Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said in an interview today that the President has full executive authority on immigration decisions and issues. “There has been a longstanding precedent in the Supreme Court that the federal government, the executive branch, has authority in immigration matters,” Perez said. Perez strongly defends the legality of President Obama’s immigration executive actions, which will be argued before the Supreme Court this coming Monday, April 18th, as the Justices examine the case for the two proposed immigration programs, Expanded DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability).
Referring to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution which is interpreted to mean that Federal Laws trump State laws, Perez said “you can’t have 50 immigration policies in 50 states.” Perhaps the most notorious state attempt at regulating immigration is Arizona’s S.B. 1070, in which the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a brief that Arizona lawmakers “crossed a constitutional line.”
Regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court’s Decision on the Executive Action Case in whether or not Expanded DACA and DAPA will be able to move forward, there is no substitute for comprehensive reform. Perez stated in his interview that he believes that immigration reform will finally be effectuated next year. No doubt, much is riding on both the Supreme Court’s ruling and the next elected President’s stance on Immigration. The Shulman Law Group, LLC is strongly advising individuals who may be eligible for either DACA, DAPA, or other immigration relief to start gathering and organizing their documentation so that they will be ready to complete applications in a timely fashion should these programs be approved by the Supreme Court or if other immigration reform measures become available in the near future.