The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to reverse a lower court ruling and allow the president’s controversial immigration programs, meant to ease deportation threats to millions of undocumented immigrants, go into effect.
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The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week on November 10 that they are upholding the injunction a Texas federal judge implemented earlier this year.
“Today marks one year since President Obama announced the creation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program and an expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to help keep immigrant families together”. “It bars approximately 4 million parents – who have lived in this country for years, would pass a background check, are not priorities for removal and have a son or daughter who is a USA citizen or lawful permanent resident – from requesting deferred action… and receiving authorization to work lawfully”. DACA lets people who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 apply for a two-year work permit and also exempts them from deportation.
The administration said Friday it is asking the Supreme Court to remove stays by the lower courts.
Twenty-six states challenged Obama’s plan, as Republicans claim the executive action is an example of illegal executive overreach. “The only reason he is taking this case to the Supreme Court is to make sure that millions of these illegally-present foreign citizens get work permits to compete with struggling American workers for jobs and wages”.
A federal district court and then a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans, in a 2-to-1 decision, agreed.
Immigrant-rights advocates cheered the appeal, but said they still want to see more out of Mr. Obama.
Mr. Obama insists he’s only expanding on the types of policies previous presidents have overseen – though his administration admits the size of his program is unprecedented.
The administration says the program is simply a form of prioritizing which illegal aliens the government will move first to deport.
A federal judge in Texas placed an injunction on the action in February, temporarily suspending it while the challenge wound its way through the courts.
Leaders in more than a dozen largely Democratic-led states and dozens of cities have filed briefs supporting the administration’s position.
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Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, said the “swift filing” by the Justice Department gives the Supreme Court “plenty of time to hear the case this term and provide stability to the millions of families stuck in legal limbo”.
