Constitution

Written by Warren Mass

In an opinion filed on December 16, in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, federal Judge Arthur Schwab said President Obama’s immigration actions are invalid, effectively count as “legislation” from the executive branch, and concludes that they are “unconstitutional.”

In rendering his opinion in the case, United States of America, Plaintiff v. Elionardo Juarez-Escobar, Defendant, Judge Schwab cited and quoted from President Obama’s November 20 nationwide address announcing his executive actions related to granting “deferred deportation” to millions of aliens living in the United States illegally. Schwarb prefaced his opinion:
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced an Executive Action on immigration, which will affect approximately four million undocumented immigrants who are unlawfully present in the United States of America. This Executive Action raises concerns about the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government. This core constitutional issue necessitates judicial review to ensure that executive power is governed by and answerable to the law such that “the sword that executeth the law is in it, and not above it.”
In its report on the case, Fox News noted that Schwab’s opinion is unique because it did not come in response to a challenge to Obama’s immigration executive action announcement. It is also unclear, noted the Fox News report, if the opinion will have any impact other than to rally critics and fuel momentum behind other lawsuits. Continue Reading →

Filed under: US, Arthur Schwab, Barack Obama, Constitution, Department of Homeland Security, Elionardo Juarez-Escobar, Executive Action, Executive Branch