Supreme Court Sets April Hearing for DAPA Case
The Supreme Court has officially announced that oral arguments for the DAPA case will begin on April 18th.
The justices have been asked to determine the legality of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which he launched last year. The programs initiated by Obama could shield 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation for three years. Texas and 25 other states have challenged the legitimacy of these actions, calling them outside the boundary of presidential power. Moreover, the states argue that the programs would increase costs for healthcare, law enforcement, and education.
But while the states bringing the case against Obama claim that he is trying to write law, the President claims that his actions merely clarify laws that are already in place, and serve as guidance to DHS regarding which immigrants to deport.
The Court has previously announced that it expects to reach a decision by June.
Court Ruling Upholds Precedents: A TPS Beneficiary Can Apply for Adjustment of Status to a Lawful Permanent Resident
In a lawsuit between Lidia Bonilla and USCIS, the court upheld the decision of two previous cases that dealt with the same central question. The issue dealt with in all three cases was whether or not a TPS beneficiary, who originally came to the U.S. illegally, could apply for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
Lidia Bonilla is a native of El Salvador. She arrived in the U.S. in 1991 without proper inspection and applied for asylum. But in 2001, the U.S. Attorney General designated El Salvador as a TPS country after it experienced three earthquakes. In 2006, while her application for asylum was still pending, Bonilla applied for TPS. On her TPS application, Bonilla disclosed the fact that the entered the U.S. illegally in 1991. Finding no bar to admission, USCIS approved Bonilla’s application for TPS in 2007. Bonilla has since continually re-registered for TPS. As a TPS beneficiary, Bonilla is temporarily protected from deportation and she is legally allowed to work in the U.S.
Bonilla has a daughter who is an American citizen and over the age of 21. Her name is Nelly Anderson. In 2014, Anderson submitted a petition for an alien relative to USCIS so that her mother would be able to apply for an immigrant visa as an immediate relative of an American citizen. On the same day, Bonilla applied for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
USCIS sent two requests to Bonilla for evidence, including evidence of lawful admission or parole into the U.S. In response, Bonilla supplied copies of her TPS approval, asserting that this made her eligible for adjustment of status. While USCIS approved Anderson’s petition, confirming that Bonilla is a parent of a U.S. citizen, USCIS denied Bonilla’s application for adjustment of status on the grounds that she failed to provide evidence of lawful admission or parole to the U.S.
Bonilla took the case to court, on the grounds that her TPS approval did in fact qualify as evidence.
The court agreed with Bonilla and ruled in her favor. They did so on the grounds that the articles dealing with TPS benefits make it quite clear that for the purpose of adjustment of status, a TPS beneficiary is considered as though he/she had been inspected and admitted or paroled into the U.S.
To read the full case, click here.
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