U.S. judge throws out Arizona sheriff's
immigration suit against Obama
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[December 26, 2014]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal
judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit brought against Barack Obama by an
Arizona police chief who called the U.S. president's sweeping
immigration reforms unconstitutional, saying the plaintiff lacked legal
standing in the case.
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Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia denied the demand by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for
a preliminary injunction to halt the policies.
Arpaio, who calls himself "America's Toughest Sheriff," filed the
case last month, saying Obama had overstepped his powers by
bypassing Congress and ordering the changes himself.
Arpaio's lawsuit said the reforms, which eased the threat of
deportation for about 4.7 million undocumented immigrants, amounted
to an amnesty and would encourage more people to cross the border
illegally.
Beryl's 33-page decision said Arpaio did not meet the legal
requirements to qualify as a person of standing in bringing the case
on constitutional grounds.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Dec/26/images/ads/current/sunloan_bch_121614.png) The biggest overhaul to immigration in a generation has set up a
confrontation between the president and Republicans, who will take
full control of Congress in January and have said the president had
gone too far by imposing the changes.
Obama has dismissed Republican accusations that the changes amounted
to an amnesty for illegal immigrants.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Howell's decision confirms
that "the president's executive actions on immigration are lawful."
An Arizona federal judge in May 2013 ruled that deputies of Arpaio's
office had racially profiled Latino drivers.
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The judge ordered that race no longer be used as a factor in law
enforcement decisions and appointed a court monitor to oversee
Arpaio's operations.
Arpaio has denied that racial profiling occurred and has appealed
against the judge's ruling.
(Writing by Eric Walsh; Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner in
San Francisco, David Schwartz in Phoenix and by Julia Edwards in
Honolulu; Editing by Eric Beech and Ken Wills)
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