WASHINGTON — The United States Supreme Court on Thursday effectively struck down President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which would have unilaterally granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
The high court’s vote was a 4-4 tie, which upholds the ruling of a lower court striking down the president’s order. The decision is a major victory for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who has been the Senate’s most outspoken anti-immigration hawk, as well as the state of Alabama, which had joined a coalition of 26 states in opposing the president’s actions.
Earlier this year, Sessions and his Alabama colleague Sen. Richard Shelby filed a brief questioning the constitutionality of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) policy.
DAPA is an executive order signed by President Obama that exempts illegal immigrants from being deported if they are the parents of a child who is an American citizen.
“Such an action stands in stark contravention to federal law and to the constitutional principle of the separation of powers,” the Senators’ brief stated. “There is little doubt that the Executive adopted the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (‘DAPA’) program as part of an explicit effort to circumvent the legislative process.”
A coalition of states, including Alabama, also filed a brief arguing that DAPA is unconstitutional and runs counter to the Tenth Amendment. The states said that DAPA also violates Article II of the Constitution, which demands that the President must “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” In other words, the coalition of states argued that the President was unlawfully picking and choosing which laws to enforce, and which laws to ignore.
The Supreme Court agreed.
Alabama leaders began reacting to the ruling shortly after it came down. The comment below will be updated as more come in.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
Today’s Supreme Court decision, which effectively blocks President Obama’s immigration executive actions, is a victory for our system of checks and balances. Time and again, the Obama Administration has attempted to circumvent Congress and push its agenda on the American people through executive fiat. While I am pleased that the Supreme Court has halted this unprecedented power grab for now, today’s decision underscores the importance of electing a president in November who will put a conservative on the Court to defend our Constitution.
Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL1)
Once again, the Obama Administration has suffered defeat due to their failure to follow the Constitution and the laws of our country. This decision is a major victory for the rule of law and our opposition to illegal executive amnesty. Instead of continuing to encourage amnesty, the executive branch should enforce the immigration laws already on the books and finally secure our borders.
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange
This is a strong victory for the Constitution, the rule of law and for the conservative Attorneys General who took this important case all the way to the highest court in the land and prevailed… Today’s decision should send a strong signal to the President and his administration that they cannot continue to ignore the Constitution, Congress and the rule of law.
