Last Thursday (June 23), President Barack Obama’s Deferred Actions for Parents of Americans (DAPA) executive order has been dealt a substantial blow after the Supreme Court came to a 4-4 decision in United States v. Texas. The one-sentence ruling means that the immigration programs will remain blocked from going into effect, returning the issue to the lower court.
“For more than two decades now our immigration system, everybody acknowledges, has been broken,” Obama said in a White House statement. “And the fact that the Supreme Court wasn’t able to issue a decision today doesn’t just set the system back even further, it takes us further from the country that we aspire to be.”
In 2014, President Obama announced to use his presidential powers to provide relief from deportation for 4.3 million undocumented immigrants, which would’ve been one of his major victories in office. However, Texas and 24 other states challenged the plans and they successfully blocked them through a federal district court the following year.
While it is not mandatory for the Department of Homeland Security to deport any of the people who would have benefited from the order, these individuals are not going to tragically miss the ability to work in the United States under these programs and would be entitled to the protection and benefits of employment laws.
The topic of immigration has been heavily discussed in the 2016 presidential election. With this ruling, it will be even more so coming November and the issue will likely be settled by the next president.
Hillary Clinton has vowed to not only make sure DAPA becomes effective, but expand it as well. While Donald Trump will not.
If you have any questions about this ruling and how it may affect you, contact Sintsirmas & Mueller Co. L.P.A. today.
