Backers of Immigration Order Face Uphill Battle
The White House is promising an appeal after a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration. But an appeal's victory is not assured.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's decision earlier this week blocked Obama's executive orders to keep as many as 5 million illegal aliens from being deported.
"With respect to the ruling, I think the law is on our side. I think history is on our side," the president told reporters.
Supporters of amnesty for illegals were outraged by the judge's ruling and viewed the court order as a temporary setback.
"You never want to lose a round in court, but we also know this is a very early round. This is an injunction. The judge did not rule on the merits of the case," Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said.
President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Rev. Samuel Rodrigue spoke more about the issue.Watch the interview below.
Lynn Godsey, pastor of Coalition Evangelica, agreed.
"This judge wouldn't listen to us. But we're going to go to another judge and if he won't listen to us, we'll go another judge until they listen to us," Godsey said.
But the White House faces a difficult and possibly lengthy legal battle since Hanan's ruling that Obama violated federal law was legally sound.
"The president overstepped the constitutional boundaries and that's what we've been saying, my Republican colleages in Congress, for months now," Rep. John Ratcliff, R-Texas, said. "It's nice to hear a federal judge weigh in and say 'Yes, you were right.'"
However, Hanan didn't rule on constitutionality but on procedure, which the White House did not follow. The Justice Department's appeal could take months.
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