Washington, DC – Constitutional Accountability Center has filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the Obama Administration in seeking review of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program, known as DAPA, by the U.S. Supreme Court. CAC’s brief is filed on behalf of a bipartisan group of eminent former members of Congress who served when key components of the nation’s immigration laws were drafted, debated, and passed.

These former members from both sides of the political aisle – including Senator Richard Lugar, and Representatives Howard Berman, Ray Lahood and David Skaggs – know that DAPA reflects priorities, and employs an administrative mechanism to implement those priorities, that were developed by both Republican and Democratic Administrations and have been consistently endorsed by Congresses on a bipartisan basis. They also know that Congress has conferred this executive discretion because immigration is a field in which flexibility and adaptation of congressional policy is essential.

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra said, “CAC is proud to represent this outstanding group of Republican and Democratic legislators who worked diligently for years on these very important issues and who place proper application of the law over partisanship—they believe the Supreme Court should immediately grant review to correct the deeply flawed ruling of the Fifth Circuit.” CAC Senior Counsel Simon Lazarus continued, “The DAPA Directives are well within boundaries and, indeed, implement statutory provisions enacted by Congress, including provisions that direct the executive branch to exercise broad discretion in applying the nation’s immigration laws, in setting enforcement priorities and providing guidance to field officials in the implementation of those priorities.” CAC Appellate Counsel Brianne Gorod concluded, “The Supreme Court should reaffirm what it recognized just three-and-a-half years ago, that a ‘principal feature of the removal system is the broad discretion exercised by immigration officials,’ and allow DAPA to be implemented immediately.”

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Resources:

CAC’s “friend of the court” brief on behalf of Republican and Democratic former members of Congress: Michael Barnes, Howard Berman, Victor Fazio, Charles Gonzalez, Raymond LaHood, James Leach, Richard Lugar, George Miller, John Porter, David Skaggs, and Henry Waxman: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/CAC-Texas-v-US-Cert-Amicus.pdf 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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