Reports indicate that the Friday hearing that was hoped would lead to the lifting of the an injunction against Obama’s executive action in fact went badly. A three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit heard the challenge to the injunction issued by a Texas judge halting implementation of DAPA and other programs. Two judges on the panel, who had decided against executive action for immigration at an earlier hearing, indicated continuing hostility towards the administrations position.
Judge Jerry Smith indicated that he did not accept the premise that the executive action was within the scope of the president’s prosecutorial discretion. “It puts them one step ahead in terms of being eligible for lots of potential benefits, whether those are Social Security and Medicare, work authorization, earned income tax credits, and on the state level, drivers’ licenses. Just seems to me that … it really is a lot more than prosecutorial discretion.”
