On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the state’s challenge to President Obama’s executive action regarding Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) as well as an expansion of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Federal courts have ruled in the states’ favor three times, most recently in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Texas is leading a 26-state coalition against the president’s immigration plan.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated, “In deciding to hear this case, the Supreme Court recognizes the importance of the separation of powers. As federal courts have already ruled three times, there are limits to the President’s authority, and those limits enacted by Congress were exceeded when the President unilaterally sought to grant ‘lawful presence’ to more than 4 million unauthorized aliens who are in this country unlawfully. The Court should affirm what President Obama said himself on more than 20 occasions: that he cannot unilaterally rewrite congressional laws and circumvent the people’s representatives.”
Arizona Senator John McCain, who as part of the Gang of Eight fought for amnesty, issued a statement praising the decision. “I am pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case regarding President Obama’s executive action on immigration. While this case focuses on the president’s plan to provide work permits to undocumented immigrants living in the United States, it also addresses the fundamental question of whether the action violates the Constitution’s requirement that the president ‘shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.’ Not only does the president’s executive action ignore the law, but it also sets back important bipartisan efforts to reform our broken immigration system and secure our borders once and for all. After two federal courts acted to block the president’s executive action, I’m confident that the highest court of the land will also rule that this unilateral action cannot stand.”