The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it would hear a case regarding President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
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The court’s agreement to hear the appeal to a challenge brought by Texas and 25 other states led by Republican governors will add fuel to the heated debate over illegal immigration in the 2016 presidential campaign.
The court will review a ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in November that upheld the decision by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas to halt Obama’s actions. Supreme Court officials say the case likely will be argued in April, with a decision issued by the end of June.
Verrilli said that lower-court rulings “will force millions of people-who are not removal priorities under criteria the court conceded are valid, and who are parents of us citizens and permanent residents-to continue to work off the books, without the option of lawful employment to provide for their families”.
As illustrated in the map below, a total of 38 states have weighed in on the issue: 26 have joined against the Obama administration and 12 have filed briefs in defense of the administration.
The case is not the first time Obama has asked the Supreme Court to rescue a major initiative. Lower courts had blocked the program from taking effect, leaving countless of families in limbo.
He said the program will discourage illegal hiring that depresses wages for American workers.
“In terms of the children, US citizen children, of these undocumented parents, it takes a huge toll especially when they come at age 9, 10 years old when they start to understand that their parents could be arrested and could be deported”, Marcus said.
Cruz, a senator from Texas and a leading contender for the Republican nomination, has been a long-time critic of Obama’s immigration policies.
While immigration activists generally have been supportive of Obama, they have criticized his administration for raids this month that resulted in the arrests of more than 120 immigrants from Central America who came to the country illegally since 2014.
Experts say no matter which way the Supreme Court decides, it will not impact benefits immigrants are getting under current programs. At issue is the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program.
But the White House contends Obama’s actions were within its prosecutorial discretion.
Reaction to the court’s decision to hear the case was swift from both sides.
But SCOTUS could also look at the case more broadly, examining whether Obama’s executive order “violates the Take Care Clause of the Constitution”.
A big announcement was made Tuesday from the United States Supreme Court. Under pressure from critics, the government in December stepped up deportations of illegal immigrants with criminal records.
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If the Supreme Court upholds Mr. Obamas actions, the White House has vowed to move quickly to set up the DAPA program and begin enrolling immigrants before his successor takes over early next year. However, in the last fiscal year about 235,000 people were deported, the smallest number since 2006.
