Injunction on Obama's immigration executive order not lifted, Utahns cheer and jeer

Injunction on Obama's immigration executive order not lifted, Utahns cheer and jeer

(Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee applauded a federal judicial panel's refusal to lift an injunction of President Barack Obama's latest executive order on immigration, but local advocates say the ruling is deeply disappointing and will hurt families.

A three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the injunction imposed by a federal judge in Texas earlier this year shall remain in place, throwing into question whether the expanded executive order announced by Obama last fall would be implemented before the end of his second term.

Following Obama's announcement, Utah was among 26 states that filed a lawsuit against the executive branch challenging the president's actions on several fronts.

Hatch, who submitted an amicus brief in support of the states’ challenge, said he applauded the court's decision and vowed to do everything in his power to fight "this executive overreach."

"The president's refusal to enforce the nation's immigration laws goes beyond prosecutorial discretion. It is an act of arrogance and lawlessness. Today’s decision by the Court of Appeals represents an important victory for those of us who have fought to hold this president accountable to the law and the Constitution," Hatch said in a statement.

But advocates for immigrants called the decision deeply disappointing.

"It is disappointing for our families more than anything else. There was a lot of hope it would do something different for them," said Tony Yapias, Latino community advocate.

Yapias said he is hopeful that the Obama administration would appeal the 2-1 decision to the full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals or possibly revise the president's executive order.

Obama's first executive order on immigration, announced in 2012, infused hope in Utah youths and their families, Yapias said. Increases in high school graduation levels for Latino teens suggest immigrant youths are taking their studies and their futures more seriously, he said.


The president's refusal to enforce the nation's immigration laws goes beyond prosecutorial discretion. It is an act of arrogance and lawlessness. Today's decision by the Court of Appeals represents an important victory for those of us who have fought to hold this president accountable to the law and the Constitution.

–Sen. Orrin Hatch


In 2010, the graduation rate for Latino youths was 55 percent. The latest figures released by the Utah State Office of Education place the rate at 72 percent.

"We've seen an increase of young people going to school, those graduating and going to college. They're getting better jobs, higher-paying jobs, contributing more to the economy and paying more in taxes," Yapias said.

Lee, in a statement, said the panel of 5th Circuit judges should be commended for its "well-reasoned decision to prevent President Obama from implementing his lawless executive amnesty program."

The nation's immigration system is in "desperate need of reform," Lee said. "But that reform must be agreed to and passed by Congress, not unilaterally imposed on the American people by the executive branch."

The Latino advocacy organization Comunidades Unidas, based in West Valley City, noted that more than 130 legal scholars concluded that the president acted within his legal authority when he used an executive order to create immigration protections.

The executive order announced on Nov. 20 extended protection from deportation and the right to work to an estimated 4.1 million parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who have lived in the United States for at least five years and to hundreds of thousands more young people.

It also extended the window of the previously announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative to three years and expanded the pool of people who qualified for that consideration. DACA does not confer legal immigration status, but it defers removal actions for a three-year period.

In February, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas issued an injunction blocking implementation of the executive order shortly before it was to take effect. The 5th Circuit panel of judges upheld his ruling.

The appellate court panel's decision effectively means "thousands of Utah immigrants, and as many as 5 million immigrants across the country, are forced to wait, continuing to live in fear of deportation and being torn from their families," Comunidades Unidas said in a statement.

Hatch said immigration is a difficult and divisive issue, and elected officials themselves hold a wide array of views on the issue.

"But one thing that should not be controversial is our loyalty to the Constitution over our particular political views. I urge the president to abandon his dangerous unilateralism and instead work with Congress to fix this and so many other pressing problems we face as a nation,” Hatch said.

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