The White House predicted Tuesday that the Supreme Court would uphold President Obama’s immigration executive actions allowing nearly 5 million illegal immigrants to remain in the country and work without fear of deportation.
After the Supreme Court said it would consider the case, the White House said it is “confident that the policies will be upheld as lawful” and argued that the presidential power used to issue the executive actions is similar to the authority previous presidents from both parties have used to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
“Like millions of families across this country — immigrants who want to be held accountable, to work on the books, to pay taxes, and to contribute to our society openly and honestly — we are pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to review the immigration case,” Assistant White House press secretary Brandi Hoffine said in a statement.
“The deferred action policies announced by the president in November 2014 will provide greater opportunities for immigrants to contribute to our society — opportunities for young people who came to our nation as children and grew up pledging allegiance to our flag, as well as parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have lived here for years and are already making contributions to our communities and economy,” she said.
“The policies will make our communities safer. They will make our economy stronger. And they are consistent with the actions taken by presidents of both parties, the laws passed by Congress and the decisions of the Supreme Court,” she said. “We are confident that the policies will be upheld as lawful.”
The Supreme Court will review two lower-court rulings that invalidated Obama’s actions, which expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, and created a new program for parents of children born in the United States. Those moves were challenged by Texas and 25 other states, and the two court rulings decided to block implementation of Obama’s plan while the challenge proceeds.
Outside groups that favor the president’s immigration executive actions also welcomed the move.
“My parents would both get protected from deportation through the [president’s actions], and we are ready for our day in court,” Cristina Jimenez, managing director of United We Dream, said in a statement. “The only reason that my parents and millions more are still living with the fear of deportation is because of political games.”
“We fought for years to pressure President Obama to use his authority to stop deporting families like mine, and we call on the Supreme Court to let this policy begin,” she said.
Conservative activists who oppose Obama’s immigration policies were equally forceful, pledging to urge the high court to declare the executive actions unconstitutional and an overreach of the president’s power.
Jay Sekulow, the chief counsel for the American Center for Law & Justice, said he planned to file an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of members of Congress and thousands of Americans urging it to uphold a lower court ruling rejecting Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
“This is a landmark case involving the separation of powers,” Sekulow said in a statement. “Our position from the beginning has been very clear: President Obama is not a king and impatient presidents don’t get to change the law.”
“This executive overreach is both unlawful and unconstitutional,” he said. “We will be representing members of Congress and thousands of Americans in a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold the appeals court decision — and put a stop to the impermissible overreach that has been the hallmark of this president.”
During the legal course of this case, the ACLJ has represented 113 members of Congress — 25 Republican senators led by both Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Cruz of Texas — in addition to 88 House members, as well as 220,000 Americans, in its briefs.
