Appeals Court Deals Blow to Obama’s Immigration Plan

*There are many, many stories this morning about the 5th Circuit’s ruling against the president’s executive actions on immigration. They all reiterate the same information, this is one of the more complete reports. The Obama administration says it will appeal, either to the full panel of the 5th Circuit or to the Supreme Court. If they chose to go the SCOTUS route, they have until mid-winter to prepare a brief, if no the Supreme Court won;t be able to hear the case this session. VL

By Michael D. Shear and Juila Prestoin, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court said Monday that President Obama could not move forward with his plans to overhaul immigration rules by providing up to five million people with work permits and protection from deportation.

[pullquote]Lawyers for the administration had been expecting the Fifth Circuit ruling to go against the president, partly because of the high number of judges in that circuit appointed by Republican presidents.[/pullquote]

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, ruled 2 to 1 against an appeal by the Obama administration, saying a lawsuit brought by 26 states to block Mr. Obama’s actions was likely to succeed at trial.

The ruling is the latest blow to the president’s efforts to circumvent congressional inaction on immigration by using the power of his office to reshape the way immigration laws are enforced.

But the ruling may have come just soon enough to allow Mr. Obama’s lawyers to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court for consideration next year. Administration officials are hoping that the Supreme Court will overturn the lower-court rulings and let the president carry out his immigration program.

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