Federal Judge Rules ICE Agents Have Standing To Sue Obama Administration

By Susan Duclos

A seriously bad week for the Obama administration in federal courts. Earlier a federal appeals court panel of three ruled Obama’s  recess appointments were unconstitutional and invalid. (More on in a previous WuA piece here)

Now a ruling which will lead to a court battle over Obama’s amnesty by executive order.

Via Numbers USA:

Federal District Court Judge Reed O’Conner has ruled that 10 ICE agents
and officers have standing to challenge in Federal court the so-called
Morton Memo on prosecutorial discretion and the DREAM directive on
deferred action. The agents filed their complaint in October, charging
that unconstitutional and illegal directives from DHS Secretary Janet
Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton order the agents to violate
federal laws or face adverse employment actions. This is a major first
step for the ICE agents in their case against the administration.

In his 35-page decision,
Judge O’Conner found that the ICE agents and officers have standing,
but that the State of Mississippi does not. He has not yet ruled,
however, on the agents’ motion for a preliminary injunction to halt
implementation of the DHS directives.

The primary impetus for the lawsuit came last June, when Secretary
Napolitano issued a memo offering deferred action and employment
authorization to illegal aliens under age 31 who meet certain criteria
similar to those outlined in the DREAM Act, which has failed to pass
Congress on three occasions.

Even before that, though, ICE Director Morton essentially gutted
immigration enforcement by issuing a memo on prosecutorial discretion
that, in effect, prohibits ICE agents and officers from arresting or
removing any but the most violent criminal aliens. Under Morton’s stated
policy, most of the 12 million or so illegal aliens that the
administration wants to legalize are currently safe from deportation.

This is just one of the reasons that the National Immigration and
Customs Enforcement Council voted unanimously that they have no
confidence in Morton’s ability to lead the agency. Aside from ordering
ICE agents to not enforce federal immigration laws, Morton has also
gutted worksite enforcement and the 287(g) program, which is a
cooperative effort between local law enforcement and federal immigration
agents.

Read Judge O’Conner’s full decision here.

ANNE MANETAS is the Deputy Director of NumbersUSA

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 Many might remember when Barack Obama first offered Amnesty by executive order back in June 2012, which paved the way for the DREAM directive on
deferred action. At the time this caused an uproar and criticisms from the Republican party. (Source- CNN)