Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Judge declares Obama immigration action unconstitutional...
By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's new plan to ease the threat of
deportation for 4.7 million undocumented immigrants violates the U.S.
Constitution, a federal judge found on Tuesday, handing down the first
legal ruling against the plan.
The
ruling has no immediate impact, with the government saying there was no
reason for Judge Arthur Schwab of the Western District of Pennsylvania
to address the issue in the case, which concerns 42-year-old Honduran
immigrant Elionardo Juarez-Escobar.
Schwab
is the first judge to rule on the legality of the plan Obama announced
on Nov. 20. The executive action by the Democratic president is opposed
by Republicans and is already subject to other legal challenges.
Schwab
ruled that the executive action violated the U.S. Constitution's
guarantee of separation of powers and the separate "take care clause,"
which requires the president to faithfully execute laws passed by
Congress.
Schwab says he
ruled on the executive action issue because he concluded that
Juarez-Escobar could be eligible for relief under the executive action.
Government
lawyers told Schwab that Juarez-Escobar, who has pleaded guilty to
re-entering the country, was not eligible because Obama's order does not
affect criminal proceedings.
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Lisa Von Ahn)
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