Supreme Court to hear Obama’s action on immigrants

Twenty-six states led by Texas are challenging the president’s executive action. I’m proud of the fact that the Supreme Court has taken on the case. The court in 2012 and 2015 rejected conservative challenges to his signature healthcare law.

 If the Supreme Court upholds the president’s executive action, the White House has said it will move to set up the DAPA programme and start enrolling immigrants before November’s election.

From left to right: Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.

Last February, Judge Andrew Hanen of U.S. District Court in Brownsville, Texas, entered a preliminary injunction shutting down the program while the legal case proceeded. “And based on that, he is able by executive action to do that”.

Immigration advocates such as Florida Immigrant Coalition Executive Director María Rodriguez also applauded the court’s decision to consider the case. They will also be deciding if Obama violated his constitutional duty by failing to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”.

Marielena Hincapié, of the National Immigration Law Center notes, for instance, that President Obama’s immigration action is similar to those “used by every administration, both Republican and Democrat, since President Eisenhower”. “The Supreme Court has weighed in before affirming the role of the executive branch in prioritizing its efforts on immigration, as was decided in the Arizona case a few years ago”. States were not required to provide any benefits.

“Traditionally, the courts have come down quite narrowly on standing, so it’ll be interesting to see how it comes out”, said Elissa Steglich, a University of Texas immigration law professor.

If the justices side with the administration in the summer, that would leave Obama’s administration with a few short months to implement his plans. The court will decide if parents with children born in the USA can stay.

Obama’s action came after a bipartisan immigration policy overhaul bill passed by the Senate died in the House of Representatives. Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton has pledged to go further than Obama to protect large groups of immigrants from deportation. Most of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants are Hispanics, coming from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Wilson said she’s hoping the Supreme Court will make the right decision. They say the president acted within his legal boundaries.

 Opponents to the president’s action say he has overstepped executive power.

The legal dispute is focused on two policies: Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). “Not just for our homes but in the U.S. We’d be stepping out of the shadow”.