Dateline Washington – The Supreme Court appeared divided during oral arguments this morning in a crucial case challenging the executive actions on immigration that President Obama took in 2014.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, typically the court’s swing voter, seemed to side with Texas and the 25 other states arguing the president overstepped his executive authority in granting deferred deportation to nearly 5 million immigrants.
“It seems to me that’s a legislative, not an executive, task,” he said.
“It’s as if the president is setting the policy and the Congress is executing it,” Mr. Kennedy said. “That seems upside down.”
A 4-4 split by justices would leave in place a lower court’s decision blocking Mr. Obama’s action in a severe blow to the president.
The justices spent the majority of the 90-minute arguments grappling with whether Texas has a legal basis to challenge the creation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans initiative and the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programs that have been on hold since February 2015.
The court has shown signs that it is struggling with only eight justices since the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. If the court deadlocks in its decision, the immigration programs would be as good as dead.
The lower court’s temporary injunction would stand while the states seek to permanently block the president’s actions. The litigation could span into the next administration, which may or may not fight to uphold Mr. Obama’s actions depending on who wins the White House in November.
This story originally appeared at thehill.com
