Thread: Govt Urges Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Immigration

Govt Urges Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Immigration

WASHINGTON — Dec 16, 2014, 10:17 AM ET
By PETE YOST Associated Press

The Obama administration is urging dismissal of a lawsuit that would dismantle the president's immigration program, an initiative designed to spare nearly 5 million people in the U.S. illegally from deportation.

The case was brought by an Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who contends that President Barack Obama's program serves as a magnet for more illegal entries into the U.S. Arpaio says the new arrivals will commit crimes and thus burden his law enforcement resources.

In a court filing late Monday, the Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell that the sheriff's theory is speculative and unsubstantiated and that Arpaio has failed to show he will suffer any injury at all from the federal government's program.

The sheriff's challenge to the federal program is "meritless," the Justice Department said in its court filing.

The Justice Department said the federal program "does not grant legal status to any alien. Rather, it authorizes a temporary exercise of prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis for certain individuals who have been in the United States since 2010 and have deep ties to the community."

The department said the Supreme Court has made clear that the federal government has broad discretion on immigration enforcement.

Arpaio's lawsuit was filed within hours of the Nov. 20 announcement of Obama's immigration effort. Separately, 24 states have joined in a federal court challenge in Texas alleging that Obama violated constitutional limits on presidential power. The states' lawsuit says the president's action by executive order will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis along the southern border.

Arpaio's lawsuit says Obama is "hijacking" existing immigration regulation and law, creating a radically new and different regime.

Arpaio has often clashed with the federal government over the enforcement of immigration laws and he has filed suit to stop new policies announced by Obama.

The federal initiative marks the most sweeping changes to the nation's immigration laws in nearly three decades and set off a fierce fight with Republicans.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireS...ation-27627650

by Tony Lee 17 Dec 2014, 11:56 AM PDT

In asking a federal judge to dismiss Sheriff Joe Arpaio's lawsuit asking for an injunction on President Barack Obama's executive amnesty, the Justice Department claimed that President Barack Obama's executive amnesty will not attract more illegal immigrants and is not even amnesty.

In its Monday evening filing, the Justice Department argued that Arpaio's claim that "deferred action serves as a magnet for more illegal entries by aliens who will then commit crimes within his county and thus burden his law enforcement resources" is a "theory" that is "speculative and unsubstantiated."

The Arizona (Maricopa County) sheriff filed his lawsuit hours after Obama enacted his executive amnesty, arguing that Obama's executive amnesty “fundamentally transforms the definition of key terms to create a radically new and different regime of immigration law and regulation.”

In addition, the Department of Justice claimed that Obama's executive amnesty is not actually "amnesty" for illegal immigrants because it "does not grant legal status to any alien. Rather, it authorizes a temporary exercise of prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis for certain individuals who have been in the United States since 2010 and have deep ties to the community, while making work authorization available under existing statutory authority."

The Justice Department told the court that Obama's executive amnesty serves to "enhance DHS’s capacity to focus limited resources on threats to national security, border security, and public safety" and "to recognize family ties and other humanitarian concerns under" the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA). Justice Department lawyers also accused Arpaio of ignoring "the reality that these initiatives promote border security and prevent crime."

A U.S. District Court judge (Beryl Howell), whom Obama appointed, will hear the case on December 22 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Howell granted Arpaio an expedited hearing on the matter.

Twenty-four states have also sued the Obama administration over Obama's executive amnesty, while another federal judge ruled Obama's executive amnesty was unconstitutional this week.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...Is-Not-Amnesty