A three-judge panel in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, hearing arguments in State of Texas v. United States of America, questioned the attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice and 26 states about whether the block on President Barack Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration should be reversed.

During the oral arguments, the panel of judges weighed in on whether to grant the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to reverse a preliminary injunction against some of President Obama’s recent immigration executive actions. The actions in question would (1) expand the rules of the current program for individuals who came to the United States as children under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and (2) create a similar program for parents of U.S. citizens—known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA).

The questioning focused on complex procedural and substantive immigration issues of standing and lawful presence. At this point, it is unclear whether the panel will chose to reverse the injunction. 

This hearing on whether to reverse the injunction followed oral arguments in a separate but related appeal, in which three DAPA-eligible mothers are seeking to intervene in the executive action case. During that hearing, the judges seemed relatively open to the prospective intervenors’ arguments, with Judge Jerry E. Smith of the panel pointing out that the Fifth Circuit has a record for being fairly generous with interventions.