Federal judges blocks Obama from moving on immigration

Paris (Tenn.) Post-Intelligencer: Immigration law has turned into a chess game.

The president makes a move to loosen the law, and opponents block it. The president evades the block, and opponents throw up a new barrier.

President Barack Obama has proposed to change immigration law to create a path to citizenship for people who came here illegally, but have lived here for years.

Congress refused to approve his plan. Check.

The president last year issued an executive order to use his power of office to make some of the changes he had proposed. Check.

Now a federal judge in Texas has ruled that Obama exceeded his authority. Check.

So the White House says it will appeal the judge’s order. Check.

“The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws, which is exactly what the president did when he announced commonsense policies to help fix our broken immigration system,” the White House press secretary said.

Lack of enforcement

Federal Judge Andrew Hanen ruled otherwise: “The government’s failure to secure the border has exacerbated illegal immigration into this country. This lack of enforcement, combined with the country’s high rate of illegal immigration, significantly drains the states’ resources.”

The issue seems tailor-made to wind up in the Supreme Court, which has the power of checkmate.