Reid welcomes high court decision to enter presidential powers case

The case challenges President Obama’s expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents programs which were announced more than a year ago.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement that courts have long recognised the limits to presidential authority. 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.

In November, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the states, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, advocates applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case and finally settle the immigrants’ fates. The most recent executive action came this month when he acted unilaterally to expand background checks for certain gun purchases.

His executive actions have antagonized Republicans who accuse him of unlawfully taking actions by executive fiat that only Congress can perform.

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. The DAPA order “does not regulate states or require states to do (or not do) anything”, he said.

In February, Judge Andrew S. Hanen of Federal District Court in Brownsville, Tex., entered a preliminary injunction shutting down the program while the legal case proceeded. They will also be deciding if Obama violated his constitutional duty by failing to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”.

Supreme Court Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli argued in court filings that if the lower court ruling is left undisturbed it will allow the states “to frustrate the federal government’s enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws”.

Obama’s victory could be short-lived because the next president, set to be elected in November, would have the final say on whether to keep the program in place.

In New York, around 300,000 immigrants could potentially benefit from the rule, which could come into effect as early as June or July, she added.

Some Upstate undocumented immigrants saw the actions as an opportunity in a life that has a continual threat looming over it.

The action was directed at people who have no criminal records and whose children are USA citizens. “If this can’t be a priority for the court in making a good decision…this won’t have a good impact on my kids or me”, she said.

“The decision of the Supreme Court revitalizes the immigrant community’s confidence in the judiciary system”, said Douglas Interiano, executive director of Proyecto Inmigrante ICS, a counseling service with offices in Dallas, Fort Worth and Wichita Falls. The plan was created to help illegal immigrant parents of children who are US citizens or lawful permanent residents. “Not just for our homes but in the U.S. We’d be stepping out of the shadow”.