In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to review the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA+) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), People For the American Way board member and civil rights legend Dolores Huerta stated:
“The Supreme Court made the right decision today to give millions of immigrant children and families, who are suffering greatly because of the threat of deportation, their day in court. By following the law and upholding DACA+ and DAPA, the Court can protect millions of immigrant children and parents from the threat of deportation. These actions fall well within President Obama’s Constitutional powers, and the Republican governors promoting this lawsuit are trying to use the courts to push a political agenda. The United States should not be in the business of separating families or deporting parents from their children. That’s shameful, and I hope the Supreme Court will do the right thing by upholding DACA+ and DAPA.”
People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan added:
“This case is a powerful reminder of the importance of the Supreme Court—and that the future of the Court is at stake in 2016. In this case, the Justices have a choice between following the Constitution or pushing an extreme ideological agenda. Over the last ten years, we’ve seen too many cases in which they’ve put politics above the law. Upholding the president’s actions should be an easy call, but thanks to the far-right bloc on this court this program may well come down to the views of a single justice. When voters go to the polls in 2016, they should remember that they’re not just selecting a president to serve for four years; they’re choosing the next justice who could shape the court for a generation. The future of immigrant families and so many others could be determined by whether Americans choose to pull the Court back from the extremism of the last decade or allow the GOP and its right-wing allies to capture the Court for the foreseeable future.”
###