Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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Supervisors Vote to Join Amicus Brief Supporting President Obama’s Immigration Actions
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted to join the National League of Cities and U.S. Conference of Mayors in an amicus brief defending the legality of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
The office of Supervisor Hilda L. Solis reported that the board had approved a motion that she co-sponsored with Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is presently considering an appeal by the Department of Justice from a ruling by a U.S. district judge in Texas, who granted a preliminary injunction on Feb. 16, saying the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the president had exceeded his authority. Solis said about 30 cities from across the country are expected to join the amicus brief in State of Texas v. United States.
Twenty-six states are plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed in December. Fourteen states, including California, are joining in an amicus brief supporting the president’s position.
The actions taken by the president in November include an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that he ordered in 2012, and a program called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA. Both programs seek to enable families to remain together in the United States and expand legal opportunities for work.
The administration is seeking a stay of the district judge’s order so that the programs may be implemented while their validity is litigated in the lower court. Solis said in a statement that the delay in implementation will hurt the County of Los Angeles.
“We need the Administration’s Executive actions on immigration implemented because delaying them will negatively impact our economy, further hurt many of our families and create unnecessary insecurity in our communities,” she said.
Eligible immigrants are present in every corner of the County and throughout all communities, but the largest number of eligible immigrants are in her district, she said.
Ridley-Thomas commented in a statement:
“I would like to thank Supervisor Solis for her leadership on this issue. Los Angeles County has more residents eligible for administrative relief than any other county in the nation. Los Angeles County needs to have its voice heard, by signing on to the amicus brief. We need to show our support for bringing people out of the shadows.”
The supervisors voted on Feb. 24 to create an implementation plan for expanded DACA and DAPA in the county. Supervisor Mike Antonovich cast the lone negative vote, saying that while he supports “legal” immigration, he saw no point to planning for implementation of the programs on the local level while the federal government is enjoined from implementing them nationally.
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