Friday, July 10, 2015
Immigration 5th Circuit scrutinizes Obama's immigration order; activists rally in NOLA, including Arkansas contingent
Posted By Benjamin Hardy on Fri, Jul 10, 2015 at 12:35 PM
The federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is hearing oral arguments today concerning President Obama's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program (DAPA), which would remove the threat of deportation for an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrant adults with clean criminal backgrounds.
The executive action was issued by the president last fall, along with an expansion of a similar deferred action program for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children, DACA. However, Texas and a number of other states — including Arkansas — filed suit shortly thereafter, and in February a federal district judge enjoined the president's order, thus preventing DAPA from getting off the ground. The feds appealed the case to the 5th Circuit, which is thought of as quite conservative; it declined the federal government's request to lift the lower court's injunction in May.
Pro-immigrant activists from across the country gathered in New Orleans in advance of today's hearing, including a busload of 52 from the Arkansas United Community Coalition, a group that advocates on behalf of immigrants in the state. They're asking supporters to call Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and urge her to drop the lawsuit and opposition to the executive orders.
Here's a press release the group issued on Wednesday:
Arkansas United to Join National Escalation of Pressure against Attorney Generals and Courts Blocking Positive Action on Immigration Reform
[SPRINGDALE/ FORT SMITH/ LITTLE ROCK] – On July 10, as the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral arguments on the lawsuit blocking the deferred action initiatives (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability/DAPA and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals/DACA)*, 52 Latino and immigrant voters and families representing an Arkansas advocacy group will join thousands in New Orleans for rallies and marches outside the courthouse – continuing the fight for immigration action and holding accountable elected officials who initiated the lawsuit.
Local nonprofit, Arkansas United, will be gathering deferred action supporters for three send-off rallies in Springdale, Alma and Little Rock for the bus taking its 52 delegates to New Orleans, sending a clear message to elected and public officials standing against immigration reform efforts and spinning hateful rhetoric against America’s immigrant community: Latino and immigrant voters will vote in 2016 and decide the future of immigration reform.
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