The White House has asked the Supreme Court to rehear an immigration case that has the potential to protect nearly 4 million immigrants in the country illegally from deportation, Reuters reported late afternoon Monday.
The Obama administration made the request after the deadlocked high court ruled 4-4 last month, keeping the plan from being implemented.
In the filing, the Justice Department asked the court to reconsider the case after a justice has been named to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died unexpectedly in February. President Obama nominated D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland earlier this year, but the Senate has refused to hold hearings on his nomination, saying the president’s time in office is nearly over and Obama’s successor should pick the next justice.
Acting Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn argued the case was unique because the court would not be able to hear another case on the issue once this one is blocked. The Supreme Court “should be the final arbiter of these matters through a definitive ruling,” Gershengorn wrote.
The president announced the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program, or DAPA, in November 2014. But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton rallied 25 other states to sue the president for overstepping the Immigration and Nationality Act, as well as forcing states to use local funds for a federal initiative.
