Civil and Human Rights

Obama Administration Asks Supreme Court To Revisit Deadlocked Immigration Case

By Christian Farias

A new filing seeks a rehearing on Obama’s executive actions “before a full” bench of nine justices.

Lawyers for the Obama administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court for a redo of United States v. Texas, the major immigration case in which the court’s 4-to-4 deadlock effectively left on hold President Barack Obama’s executive actions.

 

In what appears to be a peculiar move, the government said in its petition that it would like the case to be reconsidered “before a full nine-Member Court.”

 

“Ordinarily, it is exceedingly rare for this Court to grant rehearing,” the petition read. “But when this Court has conducted plenary review and then affirmed by vote of an equally divided court because of a vacancy rather than a disqualification, the Court has not infrequently granted rehearing before a full Bench.”

 

In a statement accompanying the petition, the Department of Justice said there’s precedent for this kind of play.

 

“This filing is consistent with historical practice and reflects the need for prompt and definitive resolution of this important case,” said Melanie Newman, a department spokeswoman.

 

Because the court’s tied June decision set no precedent and left in place an injunction blocking the president’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents — or DAPA ― the administration urged the Supreme Court to grant the petition. Obama’s executive action would have granted a reprieve of deportation and work authorization to parents of U.S. citizens and others who are lawfully in the country.

 

It appears the justices wouldn’t have to act on the request until the court’s ninth member is confirmed. So far, Senate Republicans have showed no intention to hold a hearing or a vote on Merrick Garland, Obama’s choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

 

Obama last month called the Supreme Court ruling in the case “heartbreaking” for millions of immigrant families and blamed it on the Senate’s refusal to act to fill the Scalia seat.

 

“This is part of the consequence of the Republican failure so far to give a fair hearing to Mr. Merrick Garland, my nominee to the Supreme Court,” Obama said at the time.

 

Progressive and immigrant-rights groups said DOJ made the right call in seeking another hearing once the court gets a ninth justice.

 

“Last month’s 4-4 tie in the Supreme Court was tremendous blow to millions of immigrant families who are long overdue for relief,” Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, said in a statement. “This case reflects what happens when politicians and members of the judiciary play politics with people’s lives.”

 

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the Constitutional Accountability Center ― an organization that has filed legal briefs at different stages in the litigation ― noted the government’s move was “unusual,” but expected given the gridlock in Congress.

 

“Because we have a short-staffed Court unable to issue a decision on the DAPA program, a regional lower court has been able to put unprecedented constraints on the executive and stop a federal policy nationwide, affecting millions of American families,” Wydra said in a statement.

More from Civil and Human Rights

Civil and Human Rights
U.S. Supreme Court

Stanley v. City of Sanford

In Stanley v. City of Sanford, the Supreme Court is considering whether the Americans with Disabilities Act protects against disability discrimination with respect to retirement benefits distributed after employment. 
Civil and Human Rights
U.S. Supreme Court

United States v. Skrmetti

In United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court is considering whether Tennessee’s ban on providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender adolescents violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Civil and Human Rights
July 31, 2024

Supreme Court Allows Cities to Punish Homelessness

The Regulatory Review
At the end of its 2023-24 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued several divided decisions...
By: Brian R. Frazelle
Civil and Human Rights
June 28, 2024

RELEASE: Ignoring constitutional history and original meaning, conservative majority allows city governments to punish people for sleeping in public even if they have nowhere else to go

WASHINGTON, DC – Following today’s decision at the Supreme Court in City of Grants Pass...
By: Brian R. Frazelle
Civil and Human Rights
June 20, 2024

RELEASE: Supreme Court decision keeps the door open to accountability for police officers who make false charges

WASHINGTON, DC – Following this morning’s decision at the Supreme Court in Chiaverini v. City...
By: Brian R. Frazelle
Civil and Human Rights
June 11, 2024

The People Who Dismantled Affirmative Action Have a New Strategy to Crush Racial Justice

Slate
Last summer, in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority struck...
By: David H. Gans