On that point, at least, the court agreed, and it now appears that the case will be argued in April and decided by the end of June. The case challenges President Barack Obama’s expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents programs.
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“If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law”, Obama said in 2014.
As SCOTUSBlog observed, the justices chose to add another question to the case: whether Obama’s action violates the president’s power to “take care” in executing the laws of the United States, even if he disagrees with its nature.
Despite the political hostility to the proposed executive actions and the appeals court ruling, which could mean eventual deportation, “I’m not fearful”, she said.
Working against the president is deep uncertainty about what happens to those who apply for protection if a Republican who opposes Obama’s actions wins the White House.
At the center of the litigation is Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program. States were not required to provide any benefits.
A federal judge in South Texas temporarily blocked the order one day before it would have taken effect. State officials claim the immigration policy would force Texas to change its own laws for issuing drivers’ licenses for legal residents or potentially lose revenue.
On Tuesday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that the president’s executive action was “clearly within the confines of his authority as president of the United States”.
Duquesne Law School Dean Kenneth Gormley, author of a new history of presidential power, observes that “There have been battles over these issues dating back to George Washington”.
If the justices side with the administration in the summer, that would leave Obama’s administration with a few short months to implement his plans. “I think a lot of people in America want a sensible, just, immigration system, Wolf, that’s going to protect those moms and dads, and let them raise their American citizen children”. The high court announced Tuesday morning it would take up the case.
This would allow five million immigrants to live and work legally in the United States.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has proposed deporting all people who are living in the USA illegally, an idea embraced by some GOP candidates and dismissed by others.
According to groups such as Promise Arizona, thousands of undocumented immigrants have had their lives put on hold while a legal challenge works its way through the courts.
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Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said Obama’s executive action relied on well-established constitutional authority. Democratic presidential candidates have pledged to continue the programme – most of the Republicans candidates however have said they will dismantle it and increase immigration enforcement.
