On April 18, 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the U.S. v Texas immigration case. At stake is the fate of the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA+) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) immigration policies.
These policies would provide, on a temporary basis, protection from deportation and work authorization for certain undocumented immigrants who are either parents of American children or permanent residents, or came to the United States as children. Yet these policies are currently blocked from implementation due to an overtly political challenge brought by Republican Governors and Attorneys General from Texas and twenty-five other states.
Below are key resources on the U.S. v Texas immigration case and the people whose lives are directly affected.
Table of Contents
- Targeted Legal Analyses
- Other Legal Background On The Case
- Documenting the Anti-Immigrant Politics of Judge Andrew Hanen
- Research and Stories about DAPA and DACA-Eligible Individuals
- Studies on Tax and Economic Benefits of DACA+/DAPA
Targeted Legal Analyses
David Leopold, an immigration attorney and past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), has drafted a series of must-read assessments of the key questions surrounding the U.S. v Texas.
- Explaining the political nature of the case: “Yes, United States v. Texas Is Really An Epic Political Battle”
- Examining the issue of standing: “Now It’s Chief Justice Roberts’ Turn To Take Care”
- On the consequences of a 4-4 split in this case: “Preventing Supreme Chaos: It’s Up to The Chief”
- Recapping the core arguments in the Department of Justice’s legal brief: “Six Key Reasons why President Obama Thinks SCOTUS Should Uphold His Immigration Executive Actions”
- Analyzing the plaintiffs’ legal brief before the court, noting their reliance on confusion and obfuscation of the law: “When Your Argument Is Wrong As A Matter of Law: The Texas Immigration Response”
- Highlights from the Department of Justice reply brief: “Obama Reply Raises The Stakes For SCOTUS: Texas is Flat Out Wrong on Immigration Law”, with additional analysis from Marshall Fitz
Other Legal Background on the Case
- American Immigration Council’s guide to the case (April 2016): brief answers to common questions, including what is at stake in the case, how the litigation began, what the contested issues are, and the impact the case may have on our country
- Summary of amicus briefs filed in support of DAPA/DACA
- Links to every pro-DAPA/DACA amicus brief
- “U.S. v Texas Amicus Brief Supporters”: an interactive tool from National Immigration Law Center demonstrating the breadth of support for DAPA from across the nation
- American Immigration Council, “Executive Grants of Temporary Immigration Relief, 1956-Present”
- Ian Millhiser at ThinkProgress: “Everything You Need To Know About The Supreme Court Challenge To Obama’s Immigration Policies”
- New York Times Supreme Court reporter and legal analyst Linda Greenhouse: “The Supreme Court vs. the President
- UCLA Law Review article by Professor Anil Kalhan, “Deferred Action, Supervised Enforcement Discretion, and the Rule of Law Basis for Executive Action on Immigration”
- Professor Stephen Legomsky’s analysis of the legal stakes and implications of U.S. v Texas, “Supreme Court Immigration Case Will Have Profound Impact”
Documenting the Anti-Immigrant Politics of Judge Andrew Hanen
- America’s Voice: “Finding Judge Hanen: How U.S. v. Texas Began”
- Kerry Eleveld at Daily Kos: “When birther queen Orly Taitz needed an anti-immigrant judge, she chose Judge Andrew Hanen”
Research and Real Life Stories: DAPA and DACA-Eligible Individuals
- Center for Migration Studies, “DACA and DAPA Populations Part of American Society”
- Center for American Progress, “DAPA Matters to U.S. Citizen Family Members in States Across the Country”
- Recap of research on benefits of DACA and DAPA for children and families
- “Fight for Families” coalition story page
- Legal briefs featuring DACA and DAPA stories:
- National AAPI DACA Video tour
- Faces of DACA+ and DAPA
- We Belong Together 100 Women 100 Miles Pilgrimage
Studies on Tax and Economic Benefits of DACA+/DAPA
- Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), “Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions”: The ITEP report finds that if the Supreme Court unfreezes the immigration executive action policies, state and local tax revenue would increase by an additional $805 million each year nationwide (report includes state-by-state assessments of undocumented immigrants’ tax contributions).
- Center for American Progress (CAP), “Assessing the Economic Impacts of Granting Deferred Action Through DACA and DAPA:” CAP report estimates that fully implementing the deferred action programs —DACA, DAPA, and expanded DACA— would grow the U.S. economy by $230 billion over the next 10 years (see here for a state-by-state breakdown).
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