Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Denies Emergency Stay in DAPA/Expanded DACA Litigation

In breaking news on Tuesday, May 26, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Obama administration’s request to lift the current injunction on the president’s executive actions on immigration. If the Court of Appeals had granted the Obama administration’s request for an emergency stay, the injunction would have been removed and the federal government could resume implementing DAPA and expanded DACA. Unfortunately, under today’s ruling, the injunction remains in place, further delaying the implementation of both programs.

To summarize: the appeals court found that Texas, and the other twenty-five states that joined in the lawsuit, had sufficient legal ground to bring the lawsuit and that the federal government had not demonstrated sufficient harm if the injunction remained in place.

Although this decision comes as a blow to the Obama administration, as well as the millions of potential DAPA and expanded DACA applicants, it is important to remember that this is not a final decision on the legality of these programs. We continue to wait for a decision on the merits from the district court level.