The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld a temporary injunction preventing the Obama Administration from implementing its so-called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program for undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, as well as the Administration’s attempt to substantially expand its already implemented Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
President Obama’s DACA expansion and DAPA directives, both of which were executive actions taken in response to inaction by Congress on comprehensive immigration reform, potentially could result in work authorization grants for several million undocumented aliens currently living in the U.S.
Shortly after President Obama issued the two directives in late 2014, the state of Texas and 25 other states brought suit in federal court challenging the President’s actions as an unconstitutional exercise of his executive power. At the states’ request, the trial judge on February 16, 2015, granted a preliminary injunction to stay the implementation of DAPA and the expansion of DACA until the case is decided on its merits. That ruling was appealed by the Administration to the Fifth Circuit.
On November 9, 2015, the appeals court, in a 2-1 decision in State of Texas, et al. v. United States, et al., No. 15-40238 (5th Cir. Nov. 9, 2015), upheld the trial courts injunction, finding that Texas et al. had established a substantial likelihood of winning on the merits. As a result, both the DAPA program and the DACA expansion will remain on hold pending expected Supreme Court review.
A copy of the Fifth Circuits ruling in Texas v. U.S. is available online here.