A suit filed against President Barack Obama’s executive action to allow more people to have their deportation deferred has gained support from institutions all over the country.
The Department of Homeland Security’s website states that in November of 2014, Obama announced executive actions that were meant to further secure the border, make deporting felons a priority, and require some undocumented immigrants to pay taxes and pass a criminal background check in order to temporarily stay in the United States. This caused the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to change into the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents.
Some of the initiatives included in the president’s executive action are:
- Expanding how many people are eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program
- Allowing lawful permanent residents and the parents of U.S. citizens the ability to request deferred action and employment authorization for three years
- Expanding the use of provisional waivers of unlawful presence
- Updating, improving, and clarifying immigrant and non-immigrant visa programs
With the passing of this executive action, officials in the state of Texas, plus those of 26 other states, decided to file suit.
In an official press release, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the suit filed has gained substantial support. He said that almost 25 amicus briefs have been filed, because many others think Obama’s executive action went out-of-bounds.
“This lawsuit to stop President Obama’s illegal immigration policy is about a concept as old as the nation’s founding – the separation of powers,” Paxton said.
Implementation of the Deferred Action for Patents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents has been delayed due to the suit. The Supreme Court of the United States is expected to pass down its decision by sometime this summer.
