U.S. Supreme Court Declines To Rehear Obama Immigration Plan Opposed In Texas-Led Litigation

AUSTIN, TX — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to rehear a plan by the Obama administration to resurrect a program that would have spared millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation, according to news reports.

The justices were evenly split on their earlier ruling on the case in a 4-4 vote. Monday's ruling signifies that earlier June ruling is final, leaving the ruling of an earlier court in place.

President Barack Obama had proposed a plan to avert deportation for some 4 million people who have lived in the U.S. since 2010 without proper documentation but with no criminal histories and with children in their households.

The case quickly devolved into partisanship rather than a genuine effort toward the first steps on immigration reform. The move became more polarizing after Obama unilaterally tried to implement the plan by executive action two years ago, in an effort to bypass a Republican-led Congress overwhelmingly opposed to the idea, as Reuters reported.

Texas led the way in opposing the move, helming a multi-state lawsuit arguing Obama had overstepped his bounds in violation of constitutional safeguards by infringing on congressional authority. Subsequently blocked from taking effect by a lower court, Obama took the executive action tactic in an effort to implement his plan, leading to the Texas-led litigation by 25 states.

In a press release, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded Monday's Supreme Court decision.

“The State of Texas’ position has been validated by the U.S. Supreme Court today as they denied the Obama administration’s petition to rehear the immigration case," Paxton said in a prepared statement. "Rewriting national immigration law requires the full and careful consideration of Congress. This is the latest setback to the president’s attempt to expand executive power and another victory for those who believe in the Constitution’s separation of powers and the rule of law.”

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