A lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration probably won’t succeed, according to an expert on presidential powers.
Wisconsin joined 16 other states in bringing the lawsuit against the federal government. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said he got involved at the request of Gov. Scott Walker. The lawsuit contends the president overstepped his authority when he issued an order that shielded millions of immigrants from deportation.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Professor Ken Mayer wrote a book on presidential powers. Mayer said there are law professors who know their stuff on both sides of this issue, but he said he’d be “extremely surprised” if this lawsuit succeeded.
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“Ultimately this is the kind of dispute that courts are frequently reluctant to get involved in, saying that this is political dispute between the branches and it’s up to you to decide how to resolve it,” said Mayer.
Mayer added that it’s not even clear what the lawsuit is asking the court to do in this case.
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