On Tuesday, May 26, 2015, a federal appeals court in Louisiana blocked Obama's immigration plan to protect as many as 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation. The decision was made by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
This development in Obama's immigration plan adds another delay for the undocumented immigrants seeking protection under Obama's executive order.
Texas Judge Blocks Obama's Executive Action
On Feb. 16, a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked Obama's executive action after 26 states, with Texas in the lead filed a lawsuit claiming that Obama's executive action was unconstitutional.
The states trying to block the plan argue that Obama was acting outside of his authority, and that the changes would force them to spend more on law enforcement, healthcare, education, and government benefits. In contrast, the White House says the president was acting within his authority to fix the nation's "broken immigration system."
After U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen sided with the states from his court located in a border town – Brownsville, Texas, the Justice Department lawyers sought a stay and appealed the injunction, arguing that the temporary hold interfered with the Homeland Security Department's ability to secure the nation's borders.
In Tuesday's ruling, two of the 5th Circuit judges, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Jerry Smith denied the stay, and said that the federal government lawyers were not likely to succeed on the merits of their appeal. Meanwhile, Judge Stephen Higginson dissented.
States Seeking to Block Obama's Executive Actions
The states seeking to block the president's actions, include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, said that the appeals court judges told the president to quit wasting time trying to circumvent the law. He pleaded with Obama to follow the law and reverse his illegal executive action now.