President gets setback on executive orders power

Although this ruling is not a ruling on the merits of the President's power to make massive policy changes via executive order, it suggests that Obama will ultimately lose. Democracy can be slow and inefficient, but we must abide by the constitutional separation of powers.  Congress makes the laws, the President enforces them.  These executive actions are not adjustments or tweakings of Congressional action.  According to the NYT:
"A federal appeals court said Monday that President Obama could not move forward with his plans to overhaul immigration rules by providing up to five million people with work permits and protection from deportation.

"A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, ruled 2 to 1 against an appeal by the Obama administration, saying a lawsuit brought by 26 states to block Mr. Obama’s actions was likely to succeed at trial.

The ruling is the latest blow to the president’s efforts to circumvent congressional inaction on immigration by using the power of his office to reshape the way immigration laws are enforced."