Announced by President Obama in November of 2014, these programs would allow millions of undocumented individuals to remain in the United States without fear of deportation and apply for a temporary work permit.
Advertisement
The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments in a case over President Obama’s immigration policies, which they support.
Immigrants and community leaders rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to mark the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration in Washington, November 20, 2015.
Due to the sheer number of immigrants involved and the fact that the executive orders went against the wishes of Congress, it is hard to predict how the Supreme Court might rule, said lawyer Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute office at New York University.
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”.
White House officials said they were pleased by the courts decision to hear their case, and they expressed optimism that the justices would eventually clear the way for the presidents actions to be carried out. A total of twenty-six states have filed suit.
An estimated 11 million people are in the United States illegally.
With some of his major legislative initiatives suffocated by Republican lawmakers, the Democratic president has resorted to executive action to get around Congress on issues including immigration, gun control and the Obamacare healthcare law. NIJC is confident that the Supreme Court, expected to hear the case this spring, will find that the administration’s actions were lawful. “I hope that the Supreme Court will recognize the separation of powers, rather than legislating from the bench as we have seen them do all too often in recent decisions”, U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, said in a press release.
Those eligible would be able to work legally and receive some federal benefits.
Wilson said this will be a step in the right direction, especially for Dreamers who were brought to the USA illegally as children. “Maybe its immigration coming for mommy or daddy”.
The Appeals Court held that the states had the authority to sue the Obama administration over the “2014 Order” known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and that the program would continue to be put on hold because Obama lacked the authority to implement it as he did.
Advertisement
The round-up of the Central American families has drawn protests from Latino advocacy groups, but the government says the migrants do not meet the legal immigration standards to stay in the U.S.
