As of now, President Obama’s executive actions on immigration—announced in late 2014—have been put on hold by a federal judge in Brownsville, Texas. The judge issued a temporary injunction, preventing the new programs from going into effect while the court considers a lawsuit filed by 26 states challenging the legality of the actions.
The federal government has appealed the decision and requested that the case be fast-tracked. However, as of yesterday, the appellate court has declined to expedite the case. The 26 states challenging the executive actions have been given until March 23rd to respond. There is no clear timeline for when the appeals court will issue a ruling.
The judge's ruling in Brownsville was relatively narrow. He did not rule on the constitutionality of the executive actions themselves. Instead, he found that the federal government may have violated administrative procedures—specifically, that it failed to follow the proper rulemaking process required under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). If the appeals court agrees, the government may have to go back and formally implement the rules before these immigration programs can begin.
Meanwhile, there appears to be little momentum in Congress for passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Any future legislative changes are likely to come in smaller, incremental steps, potentially beginning with border security and enforcement of existing laws. As of now, however, immigration reform does not appear to be a top priority in Congress.
We will continue to monitor the case and provide updates as they become available.