A federal judge dismissed Arizona county Sheriff Joe Arpaio's lawsuit challenging President Obama's executive amnesty Tuesday, a decision that has absolutely no bearing on the suit filed by Texas and joined by more than two dozen other states.
Federal District Court Judge Beryl Howell, appointed to her current position on the District Court for the District of Columbia by President Obama just four years ago, found that Arpaio did not establish a "concrete and particularized injury" sufficient to establish the legal standing needed to sue in federal court.
"The plaintiff’s case raises important questions regarding the impact of illegal immigration on this Nation, but the questions amount to generalized grievances which are not proper for the Judiciary to address," Howell wrote.
Arpaio's complaint failed to mention if he was suing in his personal or official capacity, and the judge was forced to clarify the matter at oral arguments Monday. Howell found that even in his official capacity as sheriff, Arpaio failed to identify any harms that were not "largely speculative." No one joined Arpaio in his suit.
Separately, on Monday, Tennessee became the 25th state to join Texas' challenge to Obama's most recent executive amnesty. Texas's suit will be heard by U.S. Fifth Circuit District Judge Andrew Hanen, who not only was appointed by President Bush, but also called Obama's immigration policy a "criminal conspiracy" in a 2013 case that correctly predicted the 2014 illegal immigration border surge crisis.
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If Obama's amnesty does go forward, not only will states that voted against giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, like Oregon, be forced to to do so, but federal taxpayers everywhere will be on the hook for billions in tax credits to amnestied immigrants and their families.
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