This will also shape the debate on immigration among presidential candidates in this election year. The administration also argued that waiting for a lower court to hold a hearing on the merits “would indefinitely prolong the disruption of federal immigration policy and would continue to deprive millions of parents of USA citizens and permanent residents of the opportunity for deferred action and work authorization”. “We are confident that the policies will be upheld as lawful”, White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine told AP after the court’s action today.
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The Supreme Court will be hearing a case that kept the Obama administration from shielding undocumented families from deportation.
If the justices side with the Obama administration, the White House has said that it will move quickly to set up the program and begin enrolling immigrants in the twilight of Obama’s presidency, before his successor takes office.
If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Obama administration, more than 4 million illegal immigrants will be allowed to remain inside the US without fear of being deported.
Obama’s 2014 executive order lifted the threat of deportation against immigrants with no criminal record whose children are USA citizens, but upset a large number of states which argued that the president had overstepped his bounds.
The nine justices will review a November ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a February 2015 decision by US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, a city along the Texas border with Mexico, to halt Obama’s action. If Obama can defy Congress and decide on his own not to enforce the laws against illegal immigration, future presidents could decide on their own not to enforce laws on the environment, taxes or civil rights, he said.
Wilson said this will be a step in the right direction, especially for Dreamers who were brought to the US illegally as children.
About 235,000 people were deported in the fiscal year that ended September 30, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The justices said they would consider whether Obama exceeded his authority under federal law.
The Supreme Court will rule on the State of Texas’ challenge to President Obama’s immigration program, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents.
Paxton on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court review, saying in a statement: “In deciding to hear this case, the Supreme Court recognizes the importance of the separation of powers”.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said they were happy to see the Supreme Court get involved with the case. But Neumann-Ortiz said the legal jurisdictions that have been involved so far are untra-conservative and biased.
In addition, Senator Hirono was among the key authors of the 2013 Senate comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
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Arizona is one of 28 states challenging the action. Since then, the almost 4.3 million immigrants who would have been eligible have been caught in legal limbo.
