The Supreme Court announced today that it will hear the case against Pres. Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) executive action. DAPA has been put on hold since February 2015 when U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ordered an injunction on the executive action after Texas and 25 other states filed a lawsuit to stop the amnesty.
The injunction was upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court, which suggested that the executive action would change the status of the illegal aliens. DAPA would provide approximately 5 million illegal aliens access to work permits and social security cards, which would qualify them for other state and federal benefits including welfare, essentially granting them legal status.
Today, in response to the court’s announcement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement: “In deciding to hear this case, the Supreme Court recognizes the importance of the separation of powers. As federal courts have already ruled three times, there are limits to the President’s authority, and those limits enacted by Congress were exceeded when the President unilaterally sought to grant ‘lawful presence’ to more than 4 million unauthorized aliens who are in this country unlawfully. The Court should affirm what President Obama said himself on more than 20 occasions: that he cannot unilaterally rewrite congressional laws and circumvent the people’s representatives.”
Beyond agreeing to hear the case, the Supreme Court directed the parties to argue the following question in their brief: “Whether the Guidance violates the Take Care Clause of the Constitution.” This is the provision that says the President must faithfully execute the laws Congress passes. That suggests that the justices want to investigate whether the President has the power to take these actions.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on the case in April and deliver a ruling by the end of June. If the court approves the executive action that will give Pres. Obama only seven months to enact the executive action, which can be quickly overturned by the incoming president in 2017. Most of the Republican presidential candidates have pledged to overturn the executive actions while most of the Democratic candidates have said they will continue the executive amnesties.
You can read more on this story at Politico.
