By Ana Gomez Salcido
Last week’s tie of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on President Obama’s 2014 deferred action initiatives delayed immigration relief to more than 100,000 undocumented immigrants in San Diego and Imperial Counties, and to an estimated 5 million in the United States.
“The SCOTUS was not able to come to a decision, it’s a technical tie, and it continues the suspension of the implementation of President Obama’s Deferred Action,” said Christian Ramirez, Director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition and Human Rights Director at Alliance San Diego. “The inaction by the Supreme Court leaves in place an appellate court ruling from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which means that 5 million undocumented immigrants in the country live in a legal limbo.”
The Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) extension, proposed in 2014, are the programs being on hold because of the SCOTUS tie. These initiatives were never implemented.
The legal battle is expected to continue for at least two more years, according to Ramirez, which means the benefits will not be implemented for at least another two years.
“The final solution to this, is that the legislators do their job, the current problem is that there is a vacant spot at the SCOTUS, that’s why there was a tie, ties are very rare,” said Ramirez. “Its very sad because the tie leaves the programs in a limbo, we prefer a negative decision than this legal limbo.”
Ramirez added that Obama’s DACA initiative, which started in 2012, is still in effect.
“The DACA program is not affected in any sense, that program continues to be valid,” explained Ramirez. “Those who were benefited by DACA, or that are eligible for it, can still enjoy their benefits.