The U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Barack Obama’s immigration plan with a tie vote on Thursday.
The plan, which Obama had hoped would be one of the shining pillars of his presidential legacy, would have shielded millions immigrants from deportation or would have allowed them to work in the U.S. The ruling essentially blocks the programs from being put into place during the final months of Obama’s presidency.The court voted 4-4 on the case.
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.
The tie vote leaves in place a ruling by a lower court which said the Obama administration lacked the authority to protect the immigrants from deportation without approval from Congress.
A lawsuit from Texas and 26 Republican-dominated states challenged Obama’s order, and the lawsuit eventually weaved its way to the nation’s highest court for a ruling.
Immigrant action groups 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.
Despite Thursday’s deadlock vote, immigrant groups said they wouldn’t be deterred from making their voices heard on the issue.
“Make no mistake, this will not stop us,” said SEIU Florida President Monica Russo Our union will continue to stand with immigrant families on the right side of history. While this decision is unfortunate and unfair, we will not forget who joined this lawsuit in the first place and decided to play politics with the lives of our families, our coworkers and our neighbors.
“Now more than ever, we are committed to mobilize our community to the polls in November elect leaders that respect the contributions of immigrant workers and that will support immigration reform with a path to citizenship.”
Texas officials praised the decision.
“The action taken by the President was an unauthorized abuse of presidential power that trampled the Constitution, and the Supreme Court rightly denied the President the ability to grant amnesty contrary to immigration laws," said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a statement. "Today's ruling is also a victory for all law-abiding Americans—including the millions of immigrants who came to America following the rule of law."
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
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The Supreme Court has evolved