For these two and many others like them, perhaps their only realistic hope is that the U.S. Supreme Court revives President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive action on immigration, which was thrown out by a lower court. That’s due to the death earlier this year of Antonin Scalia, the ninth justice on the court.
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Even if the immigration orders are upheld, almost half of the US undocumented population of 11 million people will not qualify for the programs. Those people, who are primarily from Mexico and Central America, would not get an easier path to citizenship.
The court is weighing the fate of Obama administration programs that could shield about 4 million people from deportation and grant them the legal right to hold a job.
In November 2014, Obama announced executive immigration initiatives including the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has warned that upholding President Obama’s executive actions would cement a risky concentration of presidential power.
Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, who is among the main organizers of the Washington trip and rally, said she expects the Supreme Court to rule in immigrants’ favor “because it’s good for immigrant families and good for the country”.
The appeals court said Texas could sue because Obama’s program would cost the state millions of dollars as people who receive deferred-deportation status become eligible for state-subsidized driver’s licenses.
The administration has argued that immigration is a federal role and that the president and immigration agencies are within their authority to decided whom to deport, given the millions who are believed to be here illegally. Texas says the administration failed to follow the proper procedures under the law, and it also argues that the guidance put forward by the administration is contrary to federal immigration laws.
Obama’s immigration orders are being challenged in the United States vs. Texas case before the Supreme Court.
“The Constitution vests legislative authority in Congress, not the president”, said Hatch, urging the justices to rule against the administration. “It could have a really significant impact on the lives of immigrants who are eligible for these programs”. Such a split ruling would be a defeat for Obama because it would leave in place the 5th Circuit decision disallowing his executive action. In March, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed joined officials in more than 100 other cities and counties in filing a brief in support of the Obama administration’s efforts.
“Deferred action itself reflects nothing more than a judgment that the aliens’ ongoing presence will be tolerated for a period of time, based on enforcement priorities and humanitarian concerns, and work authorization enables them to support themselves while they remain”, the administration told the court in a brief.
“He’s undocumented, so every time he goes out, we fear that he might be arrested and deported, and Texas families shouldn’t live like this, in fear”, said Ortega.
In Houston, Daniel Castillo Garcia said he is apprehensive about his toddler son’s future because the 19-year-old Mexican native is in deportation proceedings after being picked up by USA federal agents near the border. Verrilli stresses that the guidance does not provide any kind of lawful status under immigration law, and the undocumented immigrants remain removable at any time. Her recent endorsement of Donald Trump leaves no doubt that she does not intend to find any realistic solution to help the millions of immigrants who live in constant fear of deportation. The state could avoid it simply by decoupling the subsidies from federal immigration classifications, Dellinger said in an interview.
The programs have never taken effect.
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Kennedy sided with the Obama administration in 2012, when he wrote the majority opinion that struck down the core of Arizona’s controversial immigration law. After OCAD and others spoke out over Adan’s case, ICE agreed Tuesday to delay the man’s deportation for one year.
