The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday denied [order list, PDF] a petition to rehear United States v. Texas [SCOTUSblog materials], further stalling implementation of the Obama administration’s immigration policy. The case represents a challenge to the administration’s policy creating a program centered on deferred action, wherein around four million immigrants would be allowed to work legally and remain in the US. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] had previously blocked the administration’s policy. The Supreme Court heard argument [JURIST report] in the case in April and decided the case in June, holding simply that “[t]he judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” Monday’s decision of the court was not a surprise to the government, as it acknowledged in its petition [text] that the current 4-4 split would most likely be insurmountable. The question presented was whether a state providing subsidies to undocumented immigrants had standing to challenge the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website] in regards to its guidance on establishing a process for considering deferred action for more undocumented immigrants. DHS issued guidance calling for creation of a deferred action program for undocumented immigrants that have lived in the US for five years and either came to the US as children or have children that are US citizens or permanent residents. Those challenging the policy, including 26 states that have joined Texas in the lawsuit, have argued the policy will create further deferred action immigrants, leaving the states to foot the bill for maintaining them in their system.

US immigration law [JURIST backgrounder] continues to be a controversial and heavily politicized area of law at both the state and federal levels. In November 2014 a judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona [official website] struck down [JURIST report] an Arizona law that made smuggling immigrants a state crime because it conflicts with federal laws governing immigration. In August 2013 the Obama administration released [JURIST report] a policy directive known as the “Family Interest Directive,” emphasizing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should apply “prosecutorial discretion” towards undocumented immigrant parents of minors to limit detaining parents and to safeguard their parental rights. In June 2013 the US Senate approved [JURIST report] a bill which would create new pathways to US citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in the US. That bill was subsequently not approved by the House.