David Leopold, an immigration attorney and former president of The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), provided this assessment of the news that the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on Immigration Executive Action.
Crossposted from Leopold’s blog:
There are two big takeaways from yesterday’s announcement by the Supreme Court that it will review the President’s immigration executive actions–DAPA and DACA.
First, it’s good news for proponents and bad news for opponents. It’s a huge win for 5 million parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents across the nation who will finally get their day in court after nearly a year of waiting. It’s also a huge loss to Texas and the other GOP led states who sued in late 2014 to block Mr. Obama’s DAPA and DACA expansion from being implemented. Make no mistake, despite what they may be spinning now, restrictionist opponents of DAPA and DACA expansion fought tooth and nail to keep the U.S. Supreme Court from taking it up, including filing a 40 page legal brief imploring the Justices to not hear it.
Second, it’s very good news that the Supreme Court has asked the parties to argue whether the executive actions violate the “Take Care” clause of the Constitution. Judge Hanen’s decision blocking the DAPA and DACA was based on narrow procedural grounds–he did not rule on Texas’ claim that the President’s executive actions, which offer a temporary deportation reprieve to an estimated 5 million immigrants, violates his constitutional obligation to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”. If the Court ruled only on the narrow procedural grounds, the case would go back to Judge Hanen, a hand-picked judge whose determination to thwart immigrants and President Obama is well-established. That the Court wants argument on the “Take Care” Clause signals that the Justices are intent on resolving the GOP lawsuit fully and completely.
That’s a good sign not only for immigrants, but for the entire country.
