Supreme Court to review Obama immigration overhaul

The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will review a federal court injunction blocking the implementation of President Barack Obama’s programs to protect roughly 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The Court is expected to hear arguments in the case in April and issue a ruling by the end of June.

Obama announced in November 2014 that his administration intended to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and create a similar program, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Under these programs, eligible applicants would be allowed to remain in the U.S. and receive work authorization. The initiatives have been put on hold, however, after a federal court sided with 26 states that sued to block their implementation.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the ruling in November and the Department of Justice appealed shortly thereafter to the Supreme Court.

A Supreme Court ruling in the government’s favor would give the Obama administration a chance at implementing the two programs before Obama leaves office in 2017. The future of the programs would remain uncertain, however, as the executive actions are discretionary and could be revoked by the next president.

BAL Analysis: The Supreme Court review of the immigration case will have no effect on the administration’s immigration policies related to high-skilled workers. The consequences of the ruling will be enormous, however, for Obama’s expanded DACA and DAPA programs. The programs remain on hold pending the Court’s ruling.

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