On Monday, a judge in a Federal District Court in Texas threatened to delay President Obama’s flagship immigration program for months and even years.
Judge Andrew S. Hanen said Obama’s executive actions, considering applications from undocumented workers to legalize their status in the US, would impose financial and bureaucratic burdens on states, strain their budgets, and unleash illegal immigration. However, his ruling was based on the technicality that the Federal Government must have a public consultation before implementing its program.
I spoke with Monocle 24’s The Globalist on Friday morning about the significance of a “terrible day for the rule of law” but an important political intervention by Judge Hanen.
Listen from 18:15 on The Globalist homepage
The judge’s decision is actually a political ruling — it’s really the job of Congress to do this. He overstepped his boundaries, but in doing so he could postpone implementation of this program until after Obama’s term ends.
The discussion considers both the legal and political routes for Obama’s response.
You are going to have two battles. You are going to have the formal legal battle, which is going to take some time, and you will have the more immediate political battle. Can the Administration proceed with plans over undocumented workers even as the legal process is ongoing?
There’s also consideration of a polarized political debate, returning to the hostilities of a few years ago, and a Republican Party which has long been divided over the issue.
