Immigration activists from both sides of the immigration debate will be demonstrating in Riverside and San Bernardino as the Supreme Court hears arguments regarding President Obama’s executive action initiatives that could protect millions from deportation. A decision on the case is expected in June.
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On Monday, April 18, the eight justices heard 90 minutes of arguments on the deferred deportation programs – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA).
DAPA, which has been held up from implementation, would allow certain categories of illegal immigrants to stay in America to work, so long as they have already been in-country for at least five years and have maintained a criminal-free record. “All of this is very risky for small businesses because they don’t have the notice and comment period to, at the very least, voice their concerns before new regulations go into effect”.
The arguments come a month after Rep. John Mica and House Republicans voted to send an unprecedented amicus brief against these critical immigration programs on behalf of the House.
But a broad ruling on the scope of presidential power seems unlikely to emerge from a short-handed court. And president Obama’s executive action sheeding millions of deportat deportation. In the event of a 4-4 split, Obama’s executive action would be blocked.
Itzel Mercardo has been living in south Texas for nearly all her life a 20 year- old who attends TAMIU and is now working on getting a college degree. A 4-4- tie vote – possible since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia – would be a defeat for Obama since it would leave in place a lower court’s ruling to block his program and make it almost impossible to implement before he leaves office.
“If we allow a president, whether it’s this president or a future president…to make changes in the law without Congressional approval, then we will end up with a perverted constitution”, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Monday.
He explained that the Court is supposed to work within constraints, in that “it can only uphold or strike down what Congress and state legislatures have already passed”. “It is within the President’s authority to take appropriate steps to focus law enforcement efforts on deporting felons, not families”.
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“It will be so hard not to have family here”, she said. We were ready to file under DAPA law.
