Federal Court Issues Temporary Injunction for DAPA and Expanded DACA
Late Monday, a federal court judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking Department of Homeland Security / USCIS implementation of President Obama’s expanded deferred action program for for child arrivals and parents of US citizens and lawful permanent residents (DAPA and expanded DACA). The federal court judge determined that the states who filed the lawsuit challenging the legality of the executive action, had legal standing to bring the lawsuit. The federal court judge also determined that the executive action was most likely in violation of the federal Administrative Procedures Act. A copy of the decision can be found below:
It is important to note that this decision does NOT impact any previous DACA decisions under the 2012 program. Nor does this decision mean that the federal government is now forced to deport intended beneficiaries (indeed, the decision notes that these individuals most likely will not face any deportation threat, which was an important factor in the balancing of harms evaluation pertinent to issuance of a preliminary injunction). This decision simiply blocks implementation of the expanded DACA and new DAPA deferred action programs until full evidentiary proceedings on the merits can be conducted (although a preliminary injunction also indicates the judge’s belief that the plaintiffs (state governments) have a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits).
In the meantime, the Obama Administration wasted no time indicating they would appeal the decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (which has jurisdiction over the court isssuing the preliminary injunction). There will likely be many additional twists and turns in this legal drama, and it is very possible this matter will ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court, absent some intervening Congressional action on immigration reform that would make these legal challenges moot. We invite you to continue to follow our blog, where we will timely report any updates and continuing developments on the status of DAPA and the expanded DACA program.