U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: Immigration, Affirmative Action Rulings Handed Down

By Dennis Robaugh (Patch National Staff)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday morning upheld race as a factor in college admissions and denied President Obama's effort to allow some undocumented immigrants, including thousands in Florida, to obtain work permits to stay in the United States.

These decisions, originating from two Texas cases before the court, will directly impact millions of Americans.

In the first decision issued Thursday, the court upheld the University of Texas policy that uses students' race as a factor in determining admissions, ruling that in limited instance, it can be used to promote a diverse student body. The case is Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.

In the second, United States v. Texas, the Supreme Court split, 4-4, effectively leaving the lower court's ruling in place, ending protection granted by the Obama administration for about 11 million immigrants via the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA). In 2013, the Migration Policy Institute estimated Florida’s undocumented immigrant population at more than 600,000.

A decision involving a third Texas case, this one involving abortion rights, is pending.

Together, these three cases deal with some of the United States' most vexing, contentious issues — abortion, illegal immigration and affirmative action.

Due to the sudden and untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia, only eight justices are weighing in on these cases, which muddied efforts to divine how the court will rule. Coincidentally, Scalia died while vacationing in Texas.

These decisions hold far-reaching implications for the American people and direct impact on millions. And that import comes with intense emotions among advocates on opposing sides of the abortion rights, undocumented immigrant and affirmative action questions.

Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt

Demonstrators have gathered in Washington, D.C, to make their voices heard on the matter of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which was argued before the court on March 2, 2016. In 2013, Texas passed the nation's strictest regulations on abortion providers. The law requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital 30 miles from his or her clinic, and requires clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers.

Because those standards cannot be met in about 20 percent of the state's counties, the law dramatically reduces a woman's access to abortion providers.

The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of those provisions in the law.

» learn more in this report on Texas Patch

United States v. Texas

The state of Texas challenged the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, announced in November 2014 that allows undocumented immigrants with U.S.-born children to apply for three-year work permits that allow them to stay in the country. United States v. Texas was argued before the Supreme Court on April 18, 2016.

The federal government argued the state has no standing to challenge an executive order. Nonetheless, a federal judge with anti-immigration leanings granted an injunction requested by GOP lawmakers in Texas to stop implementation of the policy.

Thursday's decision effectively nullifies the president's executive order.

» learn more in this report on Texas Patch

Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin

Does a university need to consider race to achieve a diverse student body? That was the question at the heart of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, which was argued before the Supreme Court on Dec. 9, 2015. The justices ultimately decided in favor of the university.

Abigail Fisher, of Sugar Land, Texas, was denied admission to the university and accused the school of preferential treatment for some minority college applicants.

Her entire family had gone to school at UT and she said she'd always dreamed of going there, too. The university countered that Fisher lacked the academic qualifications for admittance regardless of any affirmative action policy. Most of the students with lower grades than Fisher who were granted admission were white.

Fisher was recruited by an activist to take her case to court. The case reached the High Court in 2013 and was sent back to the lower courts for review.

» learn more in this report on Texas Patch

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