WASHINGTON, DC – Following the Supreme Court’s announcement of its decision this morning in United States v. Texas, which rejected a state-led challenge to a Biden Administration memo that sets priorities for immigration enforcement, Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) Appellate Counsel Smita Ghosh issued the following reaction:

Today’s decision allows the Biden Administration to use guidance documents to prioritize individuals for immigration enforcement.  As my organization explained in a brief filed on behalf of former officials who served in both Republican and Democratic administrations at the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, immigration officials have often used documents like the one at issue here to ensure that enforcement discretion is exercised in a consistent and transparent manner.

While the Supreme Court did not reach the merits of the challenge to the Administration’s policy memo, ruling instead on standing grounds, its decision is significant insofar as it allows immigration officials to cope with limited enforcement resources by carefully prioritizing particular noncitizens for removal, as they have done for decades.

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Resources:

Case page in United States v. Texas: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/united-states-v-texas/

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a nonpartisan think tank and public interest law firm dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text, history, and values. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.

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