On Supreme Court’s Deadlocked Ruling on President Obama’s Immigration Executive Action

Following is a statement from Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project:

“The Supreme Court’s 4-4 vote today, which leaves in place an appeals court decision blocking the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program, is deeply regrettable.  Families will continue to be torn apart and millions will descend deeper into the shadows, desperate to work and provide for their loved ones but increasingly vulnerable to exploitation and fear as they try to do so.

“In the face of a recalcitrant Congress that refuses to act on matters crucially important to America’s working families—boosting wages, creating good jobs, enacting rational gun control policies, tackling climate change, mitigating collateral consequences of flawed criminal justice policies, or passing comprehensive immigration reform—President Obama has used his authority to make progress where he can to strengthen opportunity and security for all of America’s workers.

“Today’s 4-4 deadlocked vote in the Supreme Court, which lets stand a 2-1 decision by a divided Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirming an overbroad decision by a single lower-court judge in Texas, is a backwards step that slows progress in amending national immigration policy.

“We hope this is simply a detour on the road to simple fairness and justice for the millions of immigrants who live and work in America, wanting nothing more than what we all want:  the opportunity to provide for today and prepare for tomorrow, free of fear and filled with promise for the future.  When and whether we will finally extend that opportunity to all of America’s working families is a test of our fundamental decency as a nation and a people, and one that the National Employment Law Project is committed to ensuring we meet.”

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