As Josh Blackman has noted, the Obama administration has now taken to arguing that Hanen's injunction threatens the ability of the president to protect the nation because granting work permits to illegal immigrants is of vital national-security importance. If it is such a vital interest, the Obama administration needs to explain why it has put off issuing these work permits for years (and also how granting work permits to illegal immigrants specifically advances national security). Hanen seemed skeptical about claims that national security demands that the president nullify immigration law, so we'll have to see whether members of the Fifth Circuit will be persuaded by the administration's reasoning.
The next few weeks might tell us whether the Fifth Circuit will sign off on a radically empowered executive or whether it will instead put in the hard work of defending the separation of powers.
