DREAM Act Portal Forum - Justice Department seeks stay in Texas immigration ruling

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...rder/23744345/

The Obama administration will seek to lift the injunction of a Texas federal judge who ruled against the president's immigration plans earlier this week.

Justice Department lawyers will file papers no later than Monday to stay the order that blocked plans to defer deportations for up to 5 million migrants who are in the country illegally, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

The decision to seek a stay is in addition to a general appeal of the order that is the latest development in legal battle that may go all the way to the Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, based in Brownsville, Texas, ruled Monday that Obama exceeded his legal authorizing in taking his executive actions on immigration last year.

Obama vowed to appeal, noting that other courts have backed him up and he is within his rights to reform the immigration system and better protect the border.

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RELATED: 5 things to know about the fight over Obama’s immigration actions

Hanen’s ruling temporarily delaying DACA expansion and DAPA came in a case brought by the State of Texas and 25 other states that claims the president unconstitutionally bypassed Congress by offering deportation reprieves through executive action. The administration – backed by 12 states, the District of Columbia, law enforcement officials, and numerous highly respected legal scholars – answered that DACA expansion and DAPA are solidly legal and that presidents of both parties have used their executive authority to grant similar deportation reprieves.

For now, Hanen’s ruling has put both initiatives on temporary hold while the administration files its appeal. Here’s what else you need to know.

Will Judge Hanen grant a stay of the preliminary injunction?

When he issued the injunction Monday night, Hanen wrote that once DACA expansion and DAPA are in place “there will be no effective way of putting the toothpaste back in the tube” if Texas and the other states win their case against the president’s executive actions. That strongly suggests that Hanen is not likely to change his mind about halting DACA expansion and DAPA while the case moves through the courts.

It’s more likely that the Obama administration will have to turn to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to lift the injunction. The Department of Justice could wait until Hanen rules on their motion to stay and file an appeal with the 5th Circuit and ask the appellate court to lift the temporary hold on DACA and DAPA.

What if the preliminary injunction is lifted?

If the injunction is lifted, both programs could go forward as planned. DACA could go into effect as soon as the Department of Homeland Security can get it up and running – which shouldn’t take long given that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was ready to begin accepting applications this week. It also means that plans for DAPA – which is expected to go into effect sometime before May 28 – can proceed.

And what if it isn’t lifted?

Regardless of whether or not Hanen or the 5th Circuit stay the preliminary injunction, one thing is crystal clear: the Obama administration is determined to get Hanen’s decision reversed so that the president’s immigration actions can move forward. That’s because, as the White House said today, “There is a solid legal foundation for the president to take the steps that he announced late last year to reform our broken immigration system.”

“The president’s executive actions could be delayed for many more months while the administration asks the Supreme Court to review the case”
The appellate court could take several weeks or months to decide the case. In the meantime, if the temporary injunction remains in place, both the DACA expansion and DAPA will remain on hold. The government will not accept applications for either program.
If the 5th Circuit reverses Hanen’s order – as many experts expect it will do – the DACA expansion and DAPA processes will go forward as planned. If not, the president’s executive actions could be delayed for many more months while the administration asks the Supreme Court to review the case.

What should DACA expansion and DAPA applicants do while the case winds its way through the courts?

DREAMers and parents who were preparing to apply for DACA expansion or DAPA should continue to prepare to apply.

DACA expansion applicants should continue to collect documents and other proof showing their arrival in the U.S. before the age of 16 and their presence in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2010.

DAPA applicants should collect proof that they’ve lived in the U.S. since before Jan. 1, 2010 and, on Nov. 20, 2014 – the day Obama announced his immigration executive actions – were the parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

And, of course, applicants should save money so they can pay the expected $465 application filing fee, which includes the cost of criminal background checks.

David Leopold, practices law in Cleveland, Ohio and is the former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.