The Obama administration officially asked the U.S. Supreme Court today to review a federal appeals court decision to continue blocking the two executive actions on immigration the president issued exactly one year ago.

A statement to the media by Tom Jawetz, vice president of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress:

The Center for American Progress is encouraged by the action taken by the U.S. Department of Justice and we look forward to the Supreme Court taking up this case of national importance without further delay. Expanded DACA and DAPA are quintessential examples of prosecutorial discretion that are well within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s statutory authority. As has been widely documented, the economic and societal impacts of expanded DACA and DAPA would benefit not only the millions of families and American citizen children who would be directly affected, but also the country as a whole. This time last year, we were celebrating the secretary of homeland security’s decision to use his authority to allow hard-working immigrant families the opportunity to live and work without fear of deportation. This time next year, we should again be celebrating how much these parents and DREAMers are contributing to the strength and prosperity of their communities and the country.

Earlier this month, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled both programs—Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, known as DAPA, and an extension to 2012’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA—should remain on hold, while Arizona, Texas and 24 other states challenge the constitutionality of the reliefs. The legal battle began when a lower court in Texas issued a temporary injunction against DAPA and DACA II back in February. 

After the 5th Circuit decision, U.S. Rep.Raúl Grijalva said in a statement to the media that the decision is “prolonging the agony of countless families suffering in our broken immigration system. Each additional day means more families torn apart, more kids turned away from the only country they’ve ever called home, and more missed opportunities for our society as we reject talented and hardworking people for no good reason at all.” He urged the Supreme Court justices to rule in favor of the reliefs.

The programs went into effect on Nov. 20, 2014.

DAPA would grant parents of U.S. citizen or legal resident children (among other requirements) a renewable three-year work permit and temporary permission to be in the country.

DACA II is an extension of Obama’s 2012 DACA, which allows for undocumented immigrants brought here as children to apply for a two-year work permit and also remain the country. Extended DACA got rid of the age restrictions (with DACA I, the person had to be under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012 and have arrived to the U.S. before turning 16 to apply), and extended the renewable work permit to three years. 

According to the American Immigration Council, the Supreme Court will likely decide early next year whether it will hear the case. If the High Court tackles it, the ruling could come some time in June 2016, the council says.

This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2015.

I was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I moved to Tucson about 10 years ago. Since I was old enough to enjoy reading, I developed an interest in writing, and telling stories through different...

11 replies on “Obama Administration Takes DAPA, Extended DACA Fight to US Supreme Court”

  2. Joe Allan: Do you even understand DACA? It is for the children that are currently in high school or graduated to contribute to American society. They can get work permits, get social security taken from their checks to put into the system and drive legally with insurance.

    So your “terrorist” comments show that either you don’t like others from third world countries OR you are just scared because of all the violence of ISIS recently. I am too but that doesn’t have anything to do with DACA,

    Get informed before you lump all immigrants into one category.

  3. DACA and DAPA are both illegal for congres hasnt pass either one so next president in 1 act could get rid of all of Obama executive order

  4. next prresident using one executive order can get rid of all pres Obama executive order of DACA and DAPA

  5. Joe Allan, you missed some crucial points in that article : ‘The Obama administration insists now that Syrian refugees are subjected to intense vetting before they’re allowed to settle in the U.S. and that a vast majority of the millions of refugees the U.S. has resettled since the 1970s are normal, peaceful people, but the program has had serious security problems before. In 2009, a flaw in background screening of Iraqi refugees allowed the two al Qaeda-linked terrorists to settle in Bowling Green and led to a temporary suspension of the refugee program, officials told ABC News in a 2013 investigation. ” Many of these newly discovered problems have been solved.

    They also explain how the men found were bragging that they had killed Americans with regularity in Iraq. Not only was it a few men, it also names the cause for these militant groups rising. Invading sovereign countries in case they might be harmful(but actually because we wanted their oil), did so much damage to the region(and world), it will probably never be healed. We need to quit war mongering and look at the root causes. Stopping thousands of people who are innocents from entering would be another crime. Isolating our country will not help a global problem especially since they have discovered ways to make the screening even better.

    I hope you understand (and even if you don’t) we bear a ( not all) responsibility for these terrible problems. The source of the war in Syria was because of severe droughts for 5-6 years in Syria and people moved en masse to cities for water. These droughts are now attributed to climate change and many continue to lie because fossil fuel companies make big bucks, at the cost of creating more world problems. ( LIke the cigarette companies did for years and again the Republicans fought for them). We need to find causes of problems and the amount of Americans who think that isolating will solve anything as well as not acknowledging the U.S. ‘s huge role in the problems is criminal. When are we going to grow up as a nation and stop believing we have a right to take anything we want without consequences? ( I.E. Natural resources and other countries’ way) of life because we want something from them? When are we going to stop big business’ harmful practices because they can have global consequences? Read your history. We have done it over and over and over.

  6. If the US were responsible for global warming how could it help to expand the population in the US? More people more warming right?

  7. Global warming Guardians?

    Do you get your talking points from Prince Charles?

    https://ca.news.yahoo.com/britains-prince-charles-climate-change-root-cause-syrian-092031663–business.html

    Or is it Hitler apologists?

    http://www.climatedepot.com/2015/11/22/flashback-1941-scientist-claims-global-warming-caused-hitler-warmer-temps-may-produce-a-trend-toward-dictatorial-govts-people-are-are-more-docile-easily-led-in-warm-weather/

    1940s? They were peddling global warming fears in the 1940s? How the ?*%$! did we survive?

    Never mind that Assad killed 250,000. Inconsequential, huh?

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/islamic-state-has-killed-many-syrians-but-assads-forces-have-killed-even-more/2015/09/05/b8150d0c-4d85-11e5-80c2-106ea7fb80d4_story.html

    History can be your friend if you pay attention.

  8. Global warming? Let’s stay on topic which is the supreme court hopefully reversing the Texas court on their terrible decision to try and halt DACA/DAPA. Well at least that is what I hope will happen. I doubt if the “global warming” argument will play a major part of the supreme court’s discussions. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think so.

    I want DACA/DAPA to pass and continue to help those people that have been here as children. The waiting list for people from Mexico to become citizens is backlogged to around 2006 due to quotas.

    But if you come from most European countries you can most likely get a legal residency document after being here a year as their lines to become citizens are so smaller. Then they are on their way for citizenship. IT IS HARDER FOR MEXCIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES.

    PS. Not all latinos are drug smugglers or rapists or leeching off the “system”. Just saying before someone brings up these sterotypes again. Let Trump make these ignorant statements. He’s good at it. I like to call him the “Albino Baboon”. It fits him quite nicely.

  9. Before you get too uppity you might look up Trumps’ comments for yourself.

    “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best,” he said during the announcement. “They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they’re telling us what we’re getting.”

    So are you calling the BP liars? He said some are good people, which probably equates to the similar states for albinos.

    But baboons? Come on, Albinos have feelings too.

    And the backlog from 2006 resulting from quotas? maybe our immigration program is working. It’s just the illegal part that’s bogged down.

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