No Items in Cart 
July 9, 2015
36 view(s)
Administration lawyers will be back before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals tomorrow in a second attempt to get the justices to lift a legal hold placed on the president's immigration executive orders by a federal judge in Texas.
The effort could prove to be the last opportunity for President Obama to see his immigration plan put into operation before his term expires.
If the three-justice panel in New Orleans again denies the appeal, which it did once before in May, the action by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen blocking Obama's twin executive orders of November 2014 will stand, and a lawsuit by 26 states against the initiatives could proceed.
Two of the justices who voted against the administration in May will again be on the panel. At that time, a 2-1 ruling noted that "the government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its appeal" if the issue goes to trial.
The Obama plan would free up to five million undocumented immigrants from possible deportation and award many of them with work authorizations, actions which the lawsuit contents are beyond the president's executive powers.
Legal watchdogs expect the issue eventually to reach the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, widespread pro-immigration demonstrations are scheduled to be held outside the Louisiana courthouse tomorrow.
