President Barack Obama’s immigration programs will not go into effect, with a 4-4 U.S. Supreme Court deadlock today resulting in a continued block against the same.
The ruling spells the death knell for the deferred action for parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents born prior to the cut-off date in November 2014 as well as the expansion of deferred action for childhood arrivals, two hallmarks of Obama’s November 2014 executive action on immigration. The tie vote among the justices simply leaves in place a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals upholding an injunction against the programs.
Although litigation could continue in the lower courts, it is unlikely to be resolved in time for the administration to make the programs operational before the president leaves office in January. The decision does not, however, mention anything about the program’s constitutionality, which leaves open the possibility that a future president could try to implement something similar.