U.S. President Barack Obama during the Summit of the Americas in Panama
U.S. President Barack Obama holds a news conference at the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, April 11, 2015. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

In a setback to the U.S. President Barack Obama, a federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a request from the Justice Department for allowing implementation of the President's controversial immigration actions pending its appeal.

The 2-1 decision by a jury of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said, "Because the government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its appeal of the injunction, we deny the motion for stay and the request to narrow the scope of the injunction." Texas and 25 other states, which challenged the Obama administration's actions on illegal migrants as unlawful had obtained an injunction against the President’s Executive action from District Court judge Andrew S. Hanen in February. The latest order is a blow to the administration’s hopes of going ahead with the program. The ruling made clear that while the issue is pending, eligible undocumented immigrants cannot apply for any of the programs and avoid deportation threats.

Deportation Threat

What is now at stake is the much awaited implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents or DAPA and expansion of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals called as DACA getting stuck in courts.

The White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine, while expressing regret at the ruling said, the judges in the Fifth Circuit "chose to misinterpret the facts and the law" in their ruling, reports CNN. "President Obama's immigration executive actions are fully consistent with the law. The President's actions were designed to bring greater accountability to our broken immigration system, grow the economy and keep our communities safe," Hoffine said.

A report by Al Jazeera quoted leading House Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who said the court's decision to uphold the injunction was “a disappointing delay of a clear outcome.” Democrat frontrunner for presidency, Hillary Clinton has already said she was for expanding Obama's action protect more immigrants from deportation. It is estimated that there are about 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S.

Supreme Court Option

Meanwhile, officials of the Justice Department said they have no plans to approach the Supreme Court to reverse the decision by the Court of Appeals, blocking the president’s immigration actions. “The department believes the best way to achieve this goal is to focus on the ongoing appeal on the merits of the preliminary injunction itself,” said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for the Justice Department, reports New York Times.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)