Joe Arpaio, the self-declared "toughest sheriff in America," lacks standing to sue the Obama administration over immigration policies he claims affect his jurisdiction of Maricopa County, Arizona, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Arpaio claimed that President Barack Obama's deferred-deportation program, which allows up to 5 million undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States, would serve as a magnet for others to cross from Mexico into the county.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously threw out his suit over the issue, noting that the sheriff's contentions that some of the newly arrived immigrants would likely commit crimes were "unduly speculative," the newspaper detailed.

"Sheriff Arpaio's standing arguments rest on the premise that more people causing more crimes harm him because, as sheriff, he will be forced to spend more money policing the county and running its jails," the court noted, according to the Washington Post.

But "we conclude that Sheriff Arpaio has failed to allege an injury that is both fairly traceable to the deferred action policies and redressable by enjoining them, as our standing precedents require," the opinion noted.

Arpaio's lawyer, Larry Klayma, promised that he would appeal the decision to the nation's highest tribunal. "We are confident the Supreme Court will agree with Sheriff Arpaio that he has standing and that the executive actions of President Obama are unconstitutional," Klayma told CNN.

The Obama administration, meanwhile, celebrated the appellate court's ruling as a victory.

"The court correctly recognized that the constitution does not permit federal courts to hear lawsuits that rest on baseless speculation," White House spokesman Eric Schultz stated. "We will continue to work toward resolving the legal challenges so that the administration can move forward with implementing all of the president's commonsense immigration policies."

Nevertheless, another case challenging the deferred-deportation program is still pending before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, CNN recalled. That suit, brought by Texas and 25 other states, is "potentially more serious," the news channel judged.

"All eyes are now on the Fifth Circuit, and we are hoping that they, too, do the right thing and dismiss the meritless case," David Leopold, the former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, commented.