The Obama administration is being pressed by the immigration rights groups for taking steps to enable the President’s new policies on immigration reform, in spite of a federal judge’s ruling that is currently blocking these actions.
It is being said that Administration officials are all set to appeal the decision on Monday by a Texas-based U.S. district judge that will halt a pair of executive actions providing deportation relief to millions of illegal immigrants in the United States.
But as the appeals process could take a long time the advocates want the administration to kick-start the Immigration program through the imposition of an emergency order — known as a “stay” by the courts, this will seek to undo the judge’s ruling and enable the initiatives to be rolled out while the lawsuits against them continue in process.
Many advocates of the immigration reform say that a long delay could suppress participation at the expense of immigrant families. Administration officials in turn state that they were still weighing the pros and cons while exploring other legal options, one which involved an emergency stay. The administration declined to comment on what the options exactly were, it was determining certain specific factors, it said. Some legal experts noted that one consideration might be the fact that the request for a stay must first go to the federal judge- step that could delay not only the stay but the underlying appeal.
The government has stated that it has completed all procedures relating to replying to Texas and other states, prompting the judge to accelerate his verdict on whether programs relating to immigrants getting deportation deferrals can move ahead or not.
Ever since a judge issued a temporary injunction in the month of February 2015, on the DACA and DAPA programs the executive actions have been on hold. These programs could protect millions of immigrants who have entered the country illegally from deportation, granting them work permits too, in the process. Government attorneys were quoted as saying that if there was no ruling end of Monday they would be approaching the 5th U S Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in order to protect their interests.
The federal government also informed the judge that it had already issued 3-year deportation deferrals and work permits to more than 100,000 people in the DACA program of 2012. The government also said that as the immigrants had been granted the deferrals and permits before the judge’s ruling (this did not apply to the 2012 program) there was no need to revoke it.
What is medical inadmissibility?
Medical inadmissibility occurs when an individual who, in the process of applying for the Green Card for subsequent permanent residence in the United States has a health condition that becomes a case of public concern in the country. This procedure will be determined during the applicant’s application for taking on the Immigration Medial Examination.
Under the US immigration laws the medical grounds of inadmissibility include 4 categories:
- Communicable diseases which are dangerous to public health
- Physical or mental disorders with harmful behavior
- Physical or mental disorders without any display of adverse behavior
- Lack of necessary vaccinations (as per immigration laws).
Are all physical and mental conditions considered to be ‘medically-related grounds of ineligibility’?
No, not all conditions are considered to be medically-related grounds of ineligibility – the USCIS Civil Surgeon or the Panel Physician will be in a position to determine whether the behavior of the applicant could pose problems to public health. Only if the applicant has a history of physical or mental disorders coupled with abnormal, dangerous behavior will the applicant become ineligible for admission into the United States.
An emergency court order is sought to be taken by the Obama administration in order to move ahead with President Obama’s action on immigration reform.
The authorities at the Department of Justice will strive to take what is called as an “emergency stay” that would particularly undo a Texan judge’s ruling that took place earlier in the week. If the officials are successful in getting the stay in place it would then be possible for the government to restart the 2 executive action programs that have been placed in straitjacket mode. The executive action was slated to protect millions of illegal immigrants from getting deported. The Department of Justice is expected to file for the stay and expect the result by Monday. The emergency stay has also been actively supported by those who advocate immigration rights and these groups want the programs to be up and running pronto, reports say. An important official in an Immigration Center stated that immigrants across the country have been waiting for the much-needed improvements to the beleaguered immigration system for many years, and a mis-judged legal decision should not delay the process any more than it should.
Two initiatives were launched by the Obama administration last year, in the month of November. The first one extends capacity to the President’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or the DACA program of 2012. This program basically puts a stop to the deportations and extends work permits for a certain category of illegal immigrants who came to the country as children. The second one, known as DAPA could accord similar benefits to the parents of those who are now U S citizens and permanent residents of the country with legal standing.
