Supreme Court Places US v. Texas on Calendar for Decision in June
The Supreme Court on January 19, 2016, has agreed to hear United States v. Texas, Docket #15-674, in the present term. The case is best known for the DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability) program, under which a favorable ruling would affect the lives of 4,000,000+ undocumented immigrants, bringing them out of the shadows by making them eligible for a three-year work authorization and safety from deportation upon proving that they have been continuously present since 1/1/10, were illegal by 11/20/14, physically present on 11/20/14, the parent of a U. S. citizen or permanent resident who attained either status by 11/20/14, pass background checks and pay taxes, and present no other factors that in the exercise of discretion, makes the grant of deferred action inappropriate. After defeats by a conservative judge in a district court in Texas and by a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (in which 2 conservative judges appointed by Republican presidents of the 3 judges on the panel inexplicably wound up being seated on both appellate panels deciding on the preliminary injunction stay as well as the preliminary injunction merits), the Obama Administration is confident that it will prevail before the High Court. A decision is expected in June after briefing and oral arguments by April. Assuming that the Administration prevails, the DAPA program will begin from mid-to-late 2016 while Mr. Obama is still the President. Its continuation will likely depend upon the party of the next President. In accepting the case, the Court widened the issues by directing the parties to brief and argue the question of whether the government’s program violates the “take care clause” of the Constitution – in other words, whether the Obama Administration was abandoning its duty to take care of the provisions of the Constitution. This additional point had been brought up to the Court by the 26 challenging states on 12/29/15 in their contention that a duty under the “take care clause” was the President’s constitutional duty to enforce existing immigration laws that mandate the deportation of immigrants who enter the country illegally. |
