Sheriff Joes case against amnesty on fast track The president does not have the authority to rewrite immigration laws A federal appeals court has ordered an expedited schedule for a case brought by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio against President Obama over his amnesty program that is being implemented even as the case progresses. The order released Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the brief for the appellants is due Jan. 29 and the government’s brief in defense of amnesty will be due March 2. “Due to the expedited nature of this case, the court will not entertain dispositive motions. The parties should therefore address in their briefs any arguments otherwise properly raised in such motions,” said the order. “The president does not have the authority to rewrite immigration laws. Legislation and national policy are enacted by Congress, not the president,” said Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, who is representing the famous Arizona sheriff. Arpaio explained in the original complaint that he’ll be affected directly because he’ll have to deal locally with a multitude of criminals who remain in the U.S. under Obama’s plan rather than being deported and out of his jurisdiction. “It is a big victory [for] Sheriff Arpaio and indeed the American people that the D.C. Circuit recognized the need for this case to be quickly resolved before Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty program goes into full effect this spring,” Klayman said. “There are constitutional issues of great magnitude at stake and we are confident that the D.C. Circuit will put a legal stop to this illegal activity, which seeks to end-run congressional authority. “I am grateful for Sheriff Arpaio’s courage in pursuing the very necessary legal action,” he said. In earlier filings, Arpaio and Klayman argued that some aspects of amnesty already have begun taking effect, and the federal government is preparing to hired thousands of workers to process illegal aliens under amnesty. The goal of the case at the outset was to obtain a ruling from the Supreme Court on Obama’s strategy to use notes to federal agencies, called executive memoranda, to change the law, rather than going through Congress. Klayman said the request to accelerate the case was submitted because the lower court made a mistake in dismissing it. He contends a preliminary injunction should be issued to prevent “irreparable harm” from Obama’s “unconstitutional executive actions granting amnesty to roughly 5 million illegal aliens.” “Time is of the essence, since the brunt of Obama’s amnesty will occur in February,” Klayman said in his announcement about the case. “As the old adage goes, justice delayed is justice denied. The D.C. Circuit has a duty to move quickly to protect the citizens of Arizona and the nation from the harmful effects of allowing for the continued horde of illegal criminal aliens who will not now be deported to remain in the United States, as was required under existing law before Obama issued his executive actions. And, an early decision will also allow the Supreme Court discretion to review Obama’s executive actions at the earliest practicable time,” said a statement on the dispute.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 03:31:16 +0000