Ruling could affect races for president, Congress in Arizona
The Supreme Court’s decision Thursday to block President Donald Trump’s plans to end protections for those brought illegally to the U.S. as children could help put a new and uncertain focus in Arizona on the old issue of immigration reform.
The 5-4 ruling was a blow to Trump and conservatives who wanted the justices to affirm his power to end executive action taken by former President Barack Obama.
Instead, the court said Trump failed to end it through proper procedure or due
consideration.
The decision could bring attention back to an issue that had receded from the presidential race even before the coronavirus pandemic and the recession it triggered.
In Arizona, a key presidential battleground state and one with outsize interest in immigration and border security issues, the ruling, and interest in the makeup of the court itself, could stir more energy on both ends of the political spectrum.
Jessica Taylor, the Senate editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said the ruling may help rally Trump’s conservative base in Arizona, but it’s unclear how much difference that makes.
“It could sort of end up helping Trump in a way,” Taylor said, noting the past potency of the federal judiciary for conservative voters in 2016 and of immigration as well.
Even so, the political left is more attentive to the importance of the courts now than they were in 2016, she said.
Regardless, immigration as an issue for Congress is not realistically on the table during a pandemic and a recession, Taylor said.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said her conservative-leaning district has been more interested in managing the pandemic in recent months than the usual concern over immigration.
“I think (immigration) is a factor in the election,” she said. “It kind of depends where we are with coronavirus. Right now, the top thing that’s on everybody’s mind, I think, is the economy and the riots and lawlessness and the whole policing thing. I think everybody’s on edge.”
Emily Kirkland, the executive director of Progress Now Arizona, a Democratic-allied group trying to recruit new voters, in part by raising immigration reform as an issue, said the ruling had to be deflating to the right, but she isn’t certain how consequential it will be.
“It’s enormously important. The decision will have an impact. It’s just hard to say how much,” Kirkland said. “It’s such a complicated time. There’s just so many overlapping crises.”
From the pandemic to the recession to the protests against police brutality and institutionalized racism, Kirkland sees plenty to activate people on the left.
At the same time, she acknowledged the pandemic has made it more difficult to connect with people.
“It’s just harder if you can’t be out in the field,” Kirkland said.
Chamber: Congress should act
The high court’s ruling dealt with Trump’s 2017 plan to end Obama’s 2012 executive order establishing protections in two-year increments for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. It affected more than 650,000 people known as “Dreamers.” They are commonly referred to as “Dreamers” based on never passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act.
Obama’s executive action, and Trump’s move to end it, grow out of the long-standing failure of Congress to unite around any legislation that both parties can accept to overhaul the nation’s immigration system and its border security.
That hasn’t changed even when one party controlled Washington, as in the early days of both the Obama and Trump administrations.
Immigration, and especially the issue of those who grew up in this country, has created unusual political fault lines.
Glenn Hamer, the president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, is often a supporter of GOP candidates and causes. He welcomed the ruling on Thursday.
“Today’s ruling is a welcome relief for hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who are our friends, neighbors, and coworkers, and who are contributing to the richness of the United States,” he said in a statement.
“This country cannot subject major portions of immigration policy to the whims of one administration to the next. Congress must act to deliver a durable solution rooted in law. DACA recipients should not only be shielded from deportation but should be provided a path to eventual citizenship.”
Ruling draws promises from Trump, Biden
For his part, Trump reacted angrily to the ruling, which followed another this week that extended workplace protections to gay and transgender individuals. He vowed to ensure an even more conservative Supreme Court moving forward.
Later, he addressed the ruling more directly.
“The DACA decision, while a highly political one, and seemingly not based on the law, gives the President of the United States far more power than EVER anticipated. Nevertheless, I will only act in the best interests of the United States of America!” Trump said in a Twitter post.
During his Feb. 19 rally in Phoenix, Trump focused on the then-good economy, and pushed immigration and border enforcement to second-tier status. That could change when Trump returns to Phoenix on Tuesday for a scheduled speech to the group “Students for Trump.”
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, promised Thursday to make permanent protections for socalled “Dreamers” a top priority.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling today is a victory made possible by the courage and resilience of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who bravely stood up and refused to be ignored,” he said in a statement. “As president, I will immediately work to make it permanent by sending a bill to Congress on Day One of my administration.”
In Senate race, how far to go?
The ruling also serves as a fresh reminder of differences on the issue in the state’s high-profile Senate race between U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and Mark Kelly, the likely Democratic nominee.
In a statement, McSally avoided judging the court and instead focused on the need for Congress to settle the issue. She again noted that she is willing to grant legal status to DACA recipients, not citizenship.
“Today’s DACA ruling gives the White House and Congress the opportunity to do what is right and solve this issue with thoughtful legislation,” she said in a pair of tweets. “I’ve fought many times in Congress to provide a legal status for DACA recipients while enhancing border security, closing loopholes in our laws, and modernizing our legal immigration system. I stand ready to continue that work in a bipartisan way.”
In a Twitter post, Kelly emphasized citizenship as his goal.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a relief for tens of thousands of Arizona Dreamers and their families and the result of a lot of hard work by Dreamers, community leaders, and advocates who bravely made their voices heard. Their home is here, and I stand with Arizona Dreamers in celebrating this moment,” he said.
“Even as the DACA program continues, it is well past time for Congress to do its part and pass an earned pathway to citizenship so Dreamers can continue to thrive here and contribute to our communities as American citizens.”
McSally changed her position on the issue during her 2018 run for the Senate. She had supported citizenship earlier, but shifted to legal status.
Daniel McCarthy, who is challenging McSally for the GOP nomination, had not tweeted or posted comments on his usual social media channels as of Thursday afternoon.
House members signal no change
The reaction from Arizona’s congressional delegation didn’t suggest any breakthroughs from the usual partisan stalemate were at hand. Arizona’s five Democrats and its four Republicans reacted in line with their parties.
U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., dismissed Chief Justice John Roberts as “Congressman John Roberts legislating.”
“5 leftists on (the Supreme Court) decide that Obama can write an executive order but Trump can’t reverse it. This is contrary to centuries of precedent and case specific to (Trump),” he wrote on Twitter. “Until today every (executive order) by any @POTUS could be undone by another. This is corrupt.”
U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., welcomed the ruling without addressing the reasoning behind it.
“Over my three and a half years representing Arizona’s First District, I have been lucky to meet with many young Arizona DREAMers. Under DACA, these hardworking men and women have had the opportunity to receive a college education, find meaningful jobs, and give back to the country they call home,” he said in a statement, adding he was “elated” by the decision.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., who may face the most difficult path to reelection in Arizona’s House delegation, said he was troubled by the ruling.
“I have very strong concerns surrounding precedent for executive actions going forward from this decision,” Schweikert said. “Now we must work to strengthen and modernize our immigration policies for legal citizenship and strong border security.”