Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Case On Obama’s Immigration Actions

The programs, which would have protected some 5 million individuals from the threat of deportation, were put on hold in February 2015, after Texas and 25 other states collectively filed a suit against the president.

“That, to me, is reasonable, considering that we don’t have the laws on the books that we should”, he said.

Texas asked the Supreme Court not to hear the case, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he was pleased the justices will examine the president’s constitutional power to intercede without congressional approval.

While Republican presidential candidates have vowed to dismantle the program if elected, the Democratic candidates have said they will see they will ensure DAPA remains in effect. White House chief of staff Denis McDonough has said the president is planning “audacious” executive actions in his final year.

Mr Obama, who has little or no hope of passing legislation in the Republican-led Congress, has turned to executive actions to push his agenda. Under the executive actions, immigrant adults in the country illegally would be allowed to stay if they have children who are US citizens or lawful permanent residents, according to NBC News.

Critics say Americans are footing the bill for the education and health care of people who flout the law and enjoy benefits that should be reserved for citizens and legal immigrants by taking shelter in “sanctuary cities”. States were not required to provide any benefits.

While immigration activists generally have been supportive of Obama, they have criticized his administration for raids this month that resulted in the arrests of more than 120 immigrants from Central America who came to the country illegally since 2014.

For more information about the case, read our fact sheet “Immigration Relief After Texas v. United States and read stories of Asian Americans impacted by the president’s executive actions”.

“This case presents an opportunity for the Supreme Court to send a strong message that no one is above the law, not even the president”. A ruling against the federal government would set a precedent for states to challenge future executive orders from both Republican and Democratic presidents.

“Deferred action would give these parents and children the dignity of coming forward and being counted”, the Justice Department argued in asking the court to hear the case. The two leading Democratic presidential hopefuls, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, said on Tuesday the court should uphold Obama’s action.

As many as 5 million of the U.S.’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants could ultimately be eligible for deferred action under the Obama plan. “Not just for our homes but in the U.S. We’d be stepping out of the shadow”.