In response to the order in November, 2014, in joined 16 other states in a lawsuit challenging the executive order.
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LESTER HOLT: The stage is now set for what could be a major Supreme Court ruling on presidential power. The court in 2012 and 2015 rejected conservative challenges to his signature healthcare law.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he was pleased the justices will examine the president’s constitutional power to intercede without congressional approval. “And based on that, he is able by executive action to do that”.
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.
A SCOTUS decision is expected by June. Indeed, the justices broadened the scope of the case, asking the two sides to address an additional, and fundamental question: whether the president’s action violates the Constitution’s requirement that the president “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed”. White House officials said Tuesday that the steps taken by Mr. Obama on immigration were consistent with the actions taken by presidents of both parties and expressed optimism that the court would agree.
They’re going to review the President’s Executive Order on immigration that’s been held up in the courts for over a year. States were not required to provide any benefits.
Obama issued an executive order in 2014 to shield about 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation, a move that bypassed the Republican-dominated Congress. If the court rules in the administration’s favor, that would allow several months to implement the programs before a new president takes office.
“[Tuesday’s] decision by the Supreme Court is exciting news for us because it means we should actually hear something this year”, said Frankie Rodriguez, the senior pastor at El Camino and an accredited immigration representative at Immigration Connection. The court will decide if parents with children born in the US can stay.
“The legal argument is clear: President Obama, like every president before him for almost half a century, can and should exercise discretion in immigration matters”, she said. Most of the Republicans running to replace Obama have already vowed to tear up the program if elected.
Most recently, advocates were incensed by deportation raids targeting 121 Central American immigrants, arguing the raids sowed fear and skepticism in a community that could make it harder for advocates and the administration to persuade people to come forward later.
The ruling is due just months before the presidential election. “But Congress has appropriated the funds to remove only a fraction of that population in any given year”, the administration said in its Supreme Court petition. If this happens and a Republican presidential candidate will win for the post, they will be easily unwinding Obama’s program.
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The executive orders on immigration came amid a politically gridlocked Congress and could stand to be a significant part of Obama’s legacy, according to Politico.
