--- title: Immigration Reform: Federal Judge Finds Barack Obama Actions Illegal description: Justice Department has said the ruling is "flatly wrong." canonical: https://time.com/3636905/immigration-reform-obama-executive-action-judge/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-16T22:57:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:38.317Z article:section: Politics og:title: Immigration Reform: Federal Judge Finds Barack Obama Actions Illegal og:description: Justice Department has said the ruling is "flatly wrong." og:url: https://time.com/3636905/immigration-reform-obama-executive-action-judge/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26eff35e33e6a5b9/69876a6d2dce01c5e89dbf47/rtr4f3s4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: U.S. President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about immigration reform during a visit to Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Immigration Reform: Federal Judge Finds Barack Obama Actions Illegal twitter:description: Justice Department has said the ruling is "flatly wrong." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26eff35e33e6a5b9/69876a6d2dce01c5e89dbf47/rtr4f3s4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Federal Judge Rules Against Obama's Immigration Action  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Dec 16, 2014 10:57 PM UTC  President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about immigration reform during a visit to Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2014. President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about immigration reform during a visit to Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2014.Kevin Lamarque—Reuters  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Dec 16, 2014 10:57 PM UTC A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s recent executive actions to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation is unconstitutional. Judge Arthur Schwab of the Western District of Pennsylvania found the actions violated the constitution’s separation of powers, _Reuters_ [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/16/us-usa-courts-immigration-idUSKBN0JU2GX20141216). The ruling has no immediate impact but will give fodder to Republican lawmakers, who have criticized Obama as overstepping his authority. ### Photographer Captures Birds-Eye View of Border Crisis  A U.S. Office of Air and Marine helicopter patrols over the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrant families walk before being taken into custody by Border Patrol agents near McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents chase undocumented immigrants through the countryside near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrant families into custody at the border fence in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrant families into custody in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  An undocumented immigrant awaits medical attention by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants in dense brushland some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border in Brooks County, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  An undocumented immigrant awaits transportation to a processing center after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  An undocumented immigrant sits after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrants await transport to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center after being detained near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  A U.S. Border Patrol agent endures the heat after taking undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrants flee into dense brush from U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Brooks County, Texas on July 23, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  U.S. Border Patrol agents guard undocumented immigrants before sending them to a processing center near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images  Undocumented immigrants are transported to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center after being detained near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014. John Moore—Getty Images Schwab had been addressing a case regarding a Honduran immigrant, Elionardo Juarez-Escobar, who pleaded guilty to re-entry in the U.S. He said he ruled on Obama’s actions because he believed Juarez-Escobar was eligible for relief under the policy. A Justice Department spokesperson said Tuesday that Schwab’s ruling was “unfounded” and incorrect. “No party in the case challenged the constitutionality of the immigration-related executive actions and the department’s filing made it clear that the executive actions did not apply to the criminal matter before the court,” the spokesperson said. “Moreover, the court’s analysis of the legality of the executive actions is flatly wrong. We will respond to the court’s decision at the appropriate time.” ### Photos: Documenting Immigration From Both Sides of the Border  A woman and her child from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande, Hidalgo, Texas, June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce  Women and children from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande, Hidalgo, Texas, June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce  Border Patrol Agents respond to a call near a section of the border fence in Hidalgo, Texas on Feb. 13, 2013. Kirsten Luce  Border Patrol vehicles respond to a call on the banks of the Rio Grande in Hidalgo, Texas on June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce  The old border fence where scouts watch for border patrol activity and aid drug or migrant traffickers in Tijuana, Mexico, Feb. 14, 2013. Kirsten Luce  A border patrol vehicle on the remote terrain along the border in Southern California, east of San Diego, Feb. 15, 2013. Kirsten Luce  Border Patrol agents patrol the floodplain along the banks of the Rio Grande, south of Mission, Texas on Feb. 13, 2013. Kirsten Luce  Border Patrol agents patrol the thick brush along the banks of the Rio Grande south of Mission, Texas on Feb. 13, 2013. Kirsten Luce  Women and children from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande into Hidalgo, Texas on June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce  Women and children from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande into Hidalgo, Texas on June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce  The belongings of women and children apprehended after crossing the Rio Grande into Texas, collected and bagged by Border Patrol, Hidalgo, Texas, June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce  Migrants run from a gap in the border fence to a waiting car in the early morning in Penitas, Texas, Feb. 14, 2013. Kirsten Luce  An aerial of jeep trails in the United States (bottom), in an area that was once a popular crossing point into the United States from Tijuana, Mexico (top), Feb. 15, 2013. Kirsten Luce  The westernmost edge of the border extends into the Pacific Ocean separating Tijuana, Mexico and California. 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