Supreme Court To Rule on Obama’s Immigration Actions

Illegal Immigration Being Reconsidered

The outcome of the case is certainly in question, but the short time left in the Obama administration may make the court decision moot.

If the court rules in Obama’s favor, his administration will have a relatively short, seven-month window to try to roll out the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the new initiative called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans. While advocacy groups are eager to have illegal immigrants apply for the programs, there are questions about how many will do so if they’re debuted or expanded so close to the end of Obama’s presidency.

The calculation of whether to apply may depend, in part, on the state of the presidential race and whether whoever is atop the field seems likely to continue Obama’s policies. Since the moves are executive actions, they could be quickly rescinded, and most of the major Republican candidates have pledged to do just that.

The lawsuit the justices agreed to hear was brought by Texas and 25 other states claiming they would be harmed by Obama’s executive actions.

In February, Brownsville, Texas-based U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen issued an injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from moving forward with the DAPA and expanded DACA programs. Hanen suggested Obama lacked the legal power to undertake such vast changes in the immigration landscape without congressional involvement, but the judge based his ruling on the narrower, more technical ground that the changes were never formally proposed as regulations and put through the public-notice-and-comment process under federal law.

The 26 states backing the lawsuit the court will take up argue that Obama did breach his duty to “take care” that the laws are enforced and that his actions amounted to a power grab that violated “the Constitution’s separation of powers more generally.”

While those states urged the Supreme Court not to take the case and to let the lower court rulings stand, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the high court’s move reflected the important roles of the three branches of government.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to know how the court will rule. While it would seem only logical that the court would declare one man, Obama, cannot make immigration law and enforcement on his own, the Roberts court has been somewhat weak in representing the will of the people and states rights. And the final result, even with a favorable ruling for the states, will then come down to how the U.S. will enforce a decision that affirms national sovereignty and the rule of law.

Republicans have shown themselves to be weak-kneed Nellies when it comes to actually rejecting unlimited illegal immigration and going against big business and the Chamber of Commerce who are in favor of the millions of illegals coming to provide cheap labor. The net result could be a resounding victory in court, followed by a thundering defeat provided by the Republican lawmakers.

Source: politico.com