The Legal Battle Over The President’s Executive Action: Can Republicans Derail Daca And Dapa T

By Author: Rayford Marks
Total Articles: 186
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On January 15, 2015, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen for the Southern District of Texas heard oral arguments from attorneys for the United States and for a group of now 26 states who seek to block President Obama’s executive action. The States—mostly Southern and Midwestern states, nearly all led by Republican governors—have asked the federal judge to “enjoin,” or issue an order to prohibit, the Department of Homeland Security from implementing two key components of President Obama’s executive action. If successful, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (“DAPA”) programs may be temporarily or permanently halted. Judge Hanen’s ruling is expected any day, and will likely come before the February 18 start date for DACA expansion.

The states’ complaint alleges that the President’s DACA and DAPA programs violate the “faithful execution” clause of the U.S. Constitution, and that allowing the DACA and DAPA programs to proceed will cause the plaintiff states to ...
... suffer irreparable harm in the way of increased costs for education and medical care as well as from encouraging future unlawful immigration. A similar lawsuit filed by infamous Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was dismissed by the District Court of Washington D.C. before Christmas on the grounds that the claimed harm was purely “speculative” and otherwise contradicted by empirical data. However, anti-immigrant Republicans may have found a judge sympathetic to their cause in the Southern District of Texas. In an unrelated decision from 2013, Judge Hanen said that through its policy of reuniting unaccompanied children with their parents during pending removal proceedings “[the Department of Homeland Security] is rewarding criminal conduct instead of enforcing the current laws.”

This is why many immigrants’ rights’ advocates are concerned that Judge Hanen may rule in favor of the plaintiff-states and prohibit DHS from implementing the DACA and DAPA programs. If so, the Obama administration will appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and ask for the injunction to be lifted and for the programs to proceed. However, even if the Obama administration succeeds at the appellate level, a defeat at the trial court level would delay DACA and DAPA, erode immigrants’ confidence in the programs, and ultimately weaken these programs’ effectiveness in protecting immigrants from deportation.

The attorneys at Charlotte Immigration Law Firm are diligently monitoring the immigration news about the current lawsuit in Texas. While we hope Judge Hanen will follow precedent from other courts which have found that the President has broad discretion in the enforcement of immigration law, we will be prepared to advise our clients what is best regardless of the outcome.

About us: Charlotte Immigration Law Firm is a boutique legal practice focusing exclusively in the area of immigration and nationality law. Opened in 2009, the Firm handles a full range of immigration matters, including employment and family based immigration petitions, removal defense, and appeals. Our immigration lawyers in charlotte nc and legal staff help aspiring Americans, their families, and their employers navigate the complexities of U.S. immigration law. We represent our clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR” or “Immigration Court”), the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), and consular posts around the world.

We provide affordable immigration advice and representation to individuals, families and companies locally and worldwide. As your Immigration Lawyers in Charlotte we strive to construct personalized legal strategies for our clients, and deliver quality advice and competitive services in a trustful, honest, and professional manner. Our Immigration Lawyers Charlotte NC offer clients absolute confidentiality, a rigorous and innovative approach to your legal problems, while the firm's light structure allows for undivided personal attention and affordable representation.

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