Split Supreme Court Decision Leaves Block on DAPA in Place

June 23, 2016

The Supreme Court issued an opinion halting many of  Obama’s executive actions on immigration.  The court’s decision in United States v. Texas is evenly split, which means that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s Injunction (Stay) on President Obama’s immigration plan remains in place. The president’s proposed plan created a program which would have allowed many parents of US citizens and green card holders to apply for a work permit as well as “deferred action,” a benefit which provides a temporary shield from deportation. The president’s plan also called for an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to include more individuals who were brought to the US as children. Deferred action is not an immigration status, nor is it a direct pathway to lawful permanent residence (a green card) or citizenship.

For now the so-called “DAPA” as well as the expanded DACA programs will not go forward. However, this case was the appeal of a preliminary injunction, i.e. a stay issued in the early stages of litigation. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit still has not ruled on the underlying case. In the future, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit could rule that the programs are lawful—although that is highly unlikely.

Perhaps this decision, along with the highly inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from certain political candidates, will galvanize immigrant rights supporters to come out and vote in the 2016 presidential election. And just maybe this increased voter turnout will finally result in Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

For more information, check out the New York Times coverage available here.

También más información disponible en español en El Planeta aquí.