Appeals Court Upholds Injunction Against Obama's Amnesty Programs

Brittany M. Hughes | November 10, 2015
DONATE
Font Size



In a 2 to 1 vote, a federal appeals court on Monday upheld a federal judge’s injunction against President Obama’s executive actions on immigration -- a move that could delay the implementation of the president’s unilateral amnesty programs for months, if they’re even enacted at all.

In the majority opinion, Circuit Judge Jerry Smith of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program would place a major financial burden on the state of Texas, who had brought the lawsuit along with 25 other states.

From Smith’s opinion:

“DAPA undoubtedly meets [the substantial impact test] — conferring lawful presence on 500,000 illegal aliens residing in Texas forces the state to choose between spending millions of dollars to subsidize driver’s licenses and amending its statutes.”

The court’s opinion reinforced the decision handed down in February from federal Judge Andrew Hanen when he placed the injunction to halt the program’s kickoff slated for this year. The DAPA Program, announced by President Obama as one of a series of executive actions on immigration last November, would grant a temporary reprieve from deportation for about 5 million illegal aliens living in the United States.

The government estimates the program will cost up to $484 million a year, partly due to the hiring of an additional 3,100 federal employees just to implement the program.

donate