Immigration reform protesters are preparing to descend upon Washington, D.C. next week to protest when the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments over President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration.
The policies in question are two executive orders signed by President Obama which would have widespread impact on immigration in the United States.
Called the Immigration Accountability Executive Action,Obama’s 2014 executive order included an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA).
The DACA program would allow children who entered the country before their 16th birthday to receive a two-year work permit as well as an exemption from deportation, while the DAPA program would give deferred action to parents of children who are either native American citizens or are lawful permanent residents of the United States.
Obama’s order would protect more than 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. His orders allow millions of undocumented immigrants the chance to apply for deferred action status and get work permits. Immigrant action groups have lauded the president’s order, but both policies have come under intense fire from Republicans, who say Obama doesn’t have the authority to protect a third of the country’s undocumented immigrants through executive order.
Those numbers mean a big impact from local and federal immigration policies. Approximately 229,000 Florida immigrants would be eligible for deportation deferral, work permits, and state driver’s licenses under the immigration programs.
Texas went to court over the matter in 2014, and national Republican leaders filed briefs in support of the state’s challenge to the programs. Florida’s own Marco Rubio was one of the senators to add his name to the list of lawmakers opposed to Obama’s executive orders.
Supporters of the programs, including those from Florida, plan to head to Washington, D.C. over the weekend to make sure their voices are heard. According to the Florida Immigrant Coalition, a buses full of immigrant rights activists, children advocates and reproductive justice organizations as well as immigrant coalitions will leave Sunday and travel through five states to rally in front of the Supreme Court.
Cornell Law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr said Monday’s oral arguments are important because they may provide hints on how the Supreme Court will rule in late June on the legality of Obama’s executive order.
“The Court’s decision in June could redefine the balance of power between Congress and the President,” he said.
“Since immigration touches on sovereignty issues, courts generally have granted the executive branch wide latitude in implementing immigration policy,” Yale-Loehr continued. “The question here is whether the President exceeded that broad power by not simply deferring the deportations of several million undocumented immigrants but also granting them work permits.
“I doubt the Supreme Court will rule on the general authority of executive actions and the balance of power between the President and Congress. But people involved in other controversies involving executive actions, such as gun control or environmental policy, will certainly review the oral arguments in United States v. Texas closely to try to determine how legal challenges in those areas might fare.”
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the United State of America v. State of Texas on April 18 and is expected to make a decision on the executive order by June.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
