The Supreme Court Just Thwarted Obama’s Plan For Immigration Reform

Obama’s dreams for leaving a legacy on immigration reform have been dashed.

The President’s 2014 executive order, “Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents” (DAPA), expanded protection from deportation to the parents of “Dreamers” — undocumented people born outside the United States, but raised here from childhood — who were granted protection through 2012’s “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA).

But today, in particularly anti-climactic fashion, Chief Justice John Roberts announced that the eight members of The Court split 4–4 on the challenge Texas and 25 other states had brought against the DACA expansion, which claimed that the president’s order had overstepped the bounds of executive power through Homeland Security and infringed on states’ rights. By not coming to a majority decision in United States v. Texas, the court has left in place the nationwide injunction on President Obama’s critical order.

Under the DACA+/DAPA, up to 4.5 million immigrants could have applied for protection from deportation, allowing them to work and attend school legally in the United States. The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security describes the executive orders this way:

“On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced…