Today marks exactly one year since President Obama announced his executive actions on immigration. And it is exactly on this day that the U.S. Department of Justice officially filed a written petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that reaffirmed the block to the implementation of the President's proposed immigration measures.
In a 45-page documentthe Attorney General of the Department of Justice, Donald B. Verrilli Jr. detailed legal arguments why the federal government has absolute authority over immigration control, something that is not the states' to do. He wrote that if the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision is not corrected, "that decision will allow the states to thwart attempts by the federal government to enforce the nation's immigration laws."
While the blockade continues, approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants remain without the temporary protection offered by President Obama with the creation of DAPA - deferred action for parents of U.S. residents and citizens, and the expansion of DACA, which would make more undocumented immigrants eligible for deferred action for childhood arrivals.
