Court Decision Signals Delay, Not Defeat

We will protect #ImmigrationAction in the courts and in the communities

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today denied the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s request for an emergency stay in Texas, et al. v. United States, et al., the lawsuit against President Obama’s immigration-related executive actions. This will allow a lower court’s decision to block implementation of initiatives that would allow millions of immigrants to apply for work authorization and protection from deportation to remain in place while the Justice Department’s formal appeal of the lower court’s decision is considered. Below is a statement from Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center:

“Immigrant communities have waited long enough. Today’s decision allows the lower court’s legally unsound decision blocking immigration relief to stay in place, and our economy and families will suffer the consequences. We call upon the Justice Department to continue its efforts to get this injunction lifted by bringing the matter before the Supreme Court without delay.

“While millions anxiously wait to see how the legal challenges to President Obama’s initiatives will unfold in the courts, immigrants who fought for and won this policy victory refuse to be passive bystanders. With the confidence that implementation is inevitable, we are moving forward to protect DAPA and expanded DACA, not just in the courts, but also within our communities. Immigrant-rich states and cities, in which more than half the U.S.’s foreign-born population lives, have already said that the president’s immigration actions will help their economies. Immigrant leaders will continue to push for policies that make their communities safer and more inclusive.

“Most importantly, we will continue to prepare for the moment that DAPA and expanded DACA are finally allowed to take effect. Although the timeline has shifted, enthusiasm for the initiatives immigrants fought hard to achieve has not dampened. We remain as ready as ever to restore relief and deliver the promise that these immigration initiatives represent for our country.”

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