2015Dec2016Jan_digital_FINAL

Coalition’s Legal Brief urges Supreme Court
to reverse Texas v. U.S. decision blocking
President’s executive actions on immigration
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition
of 224 immigration, civil rights,
labor, and social service groups
has filed an amicus (“friend of the
court”) brief, urging the Supreme
Court to review the case, Texas v.
U.S., that has blocked some of President
Obama’s executive actions on
immigration. The filing comes less
than a month after the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld
a preliminary injunction put
in place by a Texas federal district
court that blocked implementation
of protections for millions of immigrants
across the country.
The filing from the American Immigration
Council, National Immigration
Law Center, Service Employees
International Union, American
Federation of Labor and Congress
of Industrial Organizations, Advancement
Project, LatinoJustice
PRLDEF, and the Leadership Conference
on Civil and Human Rights,
among others, comes only ten days
after the formal request, known as a
petition for writ of certiorari, from
the Department of Justice to the
Supreme Court to review the case.
Amicus briefs in support of a cert
petition are usually due 30 days after
the petition is filed. The amici
coalition acted swiftly given that the
Department of Justice has requested
a briefing schedule that would allow
the Supreme Court ample time
to hear the case during the current
term and issue a decision by June
2016.
“The breadth and depth of support
for the President’s executive
actions is clear,”
said Marielena
Hincapié, Executive
Director of
the National Immigration
Law
Center. “It’s now
up to the Supreme
Court to take the
case up this term
16
and put the legal questions to rest so
that the over 5 million U.S. citizen
children whose parents are eligible
for DAPA, can finally have stability
and be free from the fear that they
will one day be separated from their
parents.
“With more than 200 organizations
joining this amicus, including
labor groups that represent millions
of immigrant workers, there’s
no question that the president’s immigration
initiatives are necessary
and backed by the majority of the
American public,” said Rocio Saenz,
executive vice president of SEIU
International. “The Supreme Court
has a responsibility to take this case,
just as we have a duty to mobilize
our communities to continue to
defend the immigration action and
push lasting immigration reform to
the forefront of the agenda with our
vote.”
The brief provides personal stories
and testimonials about potential
beneficiaries of expanded DACA
and DAPA and explains how these
deferred action initiatives would
positively impact millions of U.S.
More on page 34