On Monday, November 9th, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals finally issued a ruling on President Obama’s Deferred Action plans – the Expanded DACA and DAPA that he announced back on November 20, 2014.
Expanded DACA and DAPA remain blocked.
The court said that the President lacked the authority to issue these two programs.
The decision is not a surprise. In fact, you can even say that the decision is good news. Why? Because now there is something to appeal.
For several months, it seemed as though the 5th Circuit was deliberately stalling, trying to keep the decision from coming out until it was too late for an appeal. It’s close, but if the Obama Administration acts quickly, it can appeal this decision straight to the U.S. Supreme Court to get heard this term. The case could be heard and decided before the end of June 2016.
Many immigration advocates, myself included, believe the best chance for success will be before the Supreme Court Justices.
Yes, the decision isn’t what we wanted, but it was what we expected. Now we can continue the fight at the next level.
As developments happen, I’ll be sure to let you know.
– Tracie