WH weighs emergency request to block judge’s immigration ruling

The White House is weighing its legal response to a federal judge’s decision to block President Obama’s unilateral moves on immigration, including the option of asking a separate court to nullify the ruling, a top official said Tuesday.

Administration officials, who have vowed to appeal the decision, may ask an appellate court to issue an emergency order undoing Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen to halt Obama’s executive actions, said Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

{mosads}If the court granted such an emergency stay it would allow the new immigration programs to proceed while the courts weigh a final verdict on the state lawsuits filed against them.

Munoz said officials will decide whether to request an emergency stay “in the next couple of days.”

“The DOJ has already determined that it will appeal. It’s going to determine within the next couple of days any additional steps that they might take, that could include a stay, but they haven’t made that determination,” Muñoz said on a conference call with reporters. “They will do it shortly.”

The comments come as defiant White House officials are downplaying Hanen’s decision, saying the executive actions will ultimately overcome the legal challenges to the benefit of millions of undocumented immigrants.

The officials emphasized that the administration will comply with the decision by delaying the launch of the programs in question, but vowed they’ll be prepared to push forward after the legal fight is resolved – a fight they’re confident they’ll win.

“At the end of the day, we expect to prevail legally and we expect that this will be a successful process,” said Muñoz. 

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said legal experts “were not surprised” that Hanen, a long-time critic of the administration’s immigration policies, ruled to block Obama’s unilateral move halting deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants.

“This is something that we are prepared for,” Earnest said. “And we have a very good track record in dealing with these kinds of rulings and ensuring that we pursue a legal strategy that will allow this to be implemented.”

The legal challenge, filed by Texas and 25 other states, came in response to two new administration programs launched by Obama in November. The first, known as DAPA, would halt deportations and offer work permits to the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents. The second would expand Obama’s 2012 program – the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative – to a greater number of undocumented immigrants brought to the country as kids. 

Hanen has yet to rule on the merits of the underlying suit, but found the states have a significant enough case that the programs should be halted until he does.  

Before the decision, administration officials were poised to begin accepting applications for the expanded DACA program on Wednesday. The launch of the much larger DAPA program, which was expected in May, has also been delayed “until the legal situation is resolved,” Munoz said. 

Immigrant rights advocates, meanwhile, are pushing the administration to request the emergency stay in order to launch the process as soon as possible.

“Then the merits of the appeal would be heard within the next several months but the program would already be underway,” Melissa Crow, legal director of the American Immigration Council, said Tuesday.