Last month, the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of a lower court of the partisan lawsuit known as U.S. v. Texas, delaying the implementation of President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration — known as DAPA and DACA+.
In an effort to play political games with the lives of millions of immigrants, Republicans refuse to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia — leaving cases of national importance without a fair hearing before a full Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s split decision in U.S. v. Texas has left millions of immigrant families who would benefit from DAPA and DACA+ in limbo, highlighting the need for U.S. v. Texas to be reargued before a full Supreme Court.
This past Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to hold a rehearing on U.S. v. Texas once the court’s ninth justice is confirmed.
As reported by the Huffington Post:
Lawyers for the Obama administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court for a redo of United States v. Texas, the major immigration case in which the court’s 4-to-4 deadlock effectively left on hold President Barack Obama’s executive actions.
In what appears to be a peculiar move, the government said in its petition that it would like the case to be reconsidered “before a full nine-Member Court.”
“Ordinarily, it is exceedingly rare for this Court to grant rehearing,” the petition read. “But when this Court has conducted plenary review and then affirmed by vote of an equally divided court because of a vacancy rather than a disqualification, the Court has not infrequently granted rehearing before a full Bench.”
This move by the U.S. Department of Justice was welcomed by immigration advocates across the country, including America’s Voice, who are now urging the Supreme Court to grant a rehearing before a fully staffed Supreme Court.
