Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens on Monday predicted the legal case against President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration could drag on for another two years and reach all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Olens — a Republican who has joined officials from 25 other states in suing to block the president’s plans — spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday in advance of a key court hearing on the matter. The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear two hours of oral arguments in the case Friday.
“I would firmly expect that one to two years from now this case will be in the U.S. Supreme Court,” Olens said, adding: “This could easily take two years. Wouldn’t it be smarter for Congress and the president to pass [an immigration] bill in that timeframe?”
Last year, Obama announced plans to shield from deportation millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S. Those plans would apply to young immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children as well as people without legal status who have children who were born in the U.S. or are legal permanent residents.
Georgia and the 25 other states have sued to block the president’s unilateral actions, arguing they are unconstitutional. A federal district court in Texas responded by temporarily placing the government’s actions on hold this year. The U.S. Justice Department is appealing that preliminary injunction, saying the government is acting within the law to refocus immigration enforcement on recent border crossers, violent criminals, those who pose threats to national security.
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