Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Obama loses in court, again



President Obama might have been surprised on Monday night when a federal district court in Texas blocked his executive action on immigration. Those familiar with his administration's legal acumen should not be.

Obama's team has suffered numerous major court defeats in cases it treated publicly as obvious slam-dunk victories. A dozen of Obama's defeats before the Supreme Court have been unanimous — on topics as diverse as religious liberty, property rights and presidential appointment powers. Each time that happens, it signifies that no knowledgeable person could have reasonably embraced Obama's legal position.

Judge Andrew Hanen's order in this immigration case could still be reversed on appeal, and even if it holds up, it is just a temporary measure as the case's merits are heard. But the injunction was issued because the conferral of legal status upon as many as 5 million people would be, as the judge put it, “virtually irreversible.” Obama himself publicly admitted on 22 previous occasions that he lacked the authority to do this unilaterally, and so those opposing him have what looks like a reasonable case.

◼ CRUZ: WH 'Counterfeiting Immigration Documents' - CBS DC
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, believes that the Obama administration is “counterfeiting immigration documents” under the president’s immigration plan.

Speaking to Fox News following a federal judge’s decision to temporarily halt President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration, the potential Republican presidential contender said the commander in chief is ignoring federal law.

“One of the things it points out is the president has claimed, rather absurdly, that the basis of his authority is ‘prosecutorial discretion.’ That he’s simply choosing not to prosecute 4.5 million people here illegally,” Cruz told Fox News. “But what the district court concluded, quite rightly, is they’re doing far more than that. The administration is printing work authorizations. It is affirmatively acting in contravention of federal law. Basically, what its doing is counterfeiting immigration documents, because the work authorizations its printing are directly contrary to the text of federal law. It is dangerous when the president ignores federal law.”

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision late Monday puts on hold Obama’s orders that could spare from deportation as many as 5 million people who are in the U.S. illegally.

In a memorandum accompanying his order, Hanen said the lawsuit should go forward and that the states would “suffer irreparable harm in this case” without a preliminary injunction.
◼ Gutierrez Predicts Unprecedented 'Militancy' - Breitbart
◼ Judge's rebuke may be hard to challenge - Reuters
In his ruling on Monday that upended plans to shield millions of people from deportation, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen avoided diving into sweeping constitutional questions or tackling presidential powers head-on. Instead, he faulted Obama for not giving public notice of his plans.

The failure to do so, Hanen wrote, was a violation of the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act, which requires notice in a publication called the Federal Register as well as an opportunity for people to submit views in writing.

The ruling, however narrow, marked an initial victory for 26 states that brought the case alleging Obama had exceeded his powers with executive orders that would let up to 4.7 million illegal immigrants stay without threat of deportation.

"It's a very procedural point – that he did this too quickly," said Michael Kagan, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
◼ RAMOS: 'Will Remember' - Breitbart

◼ Judge's ruling spurs legitimacy fight on immigration - Washington Examiner

"this is what happens when the president decides to act alone instead of trying to work with the new Congress"

◼ Indiscretion: Obama Admits Personally Changing the Immigration Law - Terence P. Jeffrey/CNS
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