Johnson: Court should uphold Obama’s immigration orders

(April 18, 2016) — Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, released the following statement today:

“The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today on the constitutionality of President Obama’s executive orders on DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) and the expansion of DACA (Deferred Action fort Childhood Arrivals). Twenty-seven states, with Texas in the lead, brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to stop these executive orders on the basis that the president has exceeded his authority and that these orders would be detrimental to the economies of their states.

“In fact, these executive orders would provide relief for millions of undocumented workers by providing work authorization, which would also lead to wages rising and strengthening the economies of all states and our overall economy. President Obama took what we believe to be his constitutional right to enforce immigration laws only after Congress repeatedly failed to bring up for discussion and a vote comprehensive immigration reform legislation. We think the constitutional merits of the DAPA and DACA executive orders are in order and we would hope that the Supreme Court justices would not politicize this case, but rather allow a nation of immigrants continue to celebrate our immigrant past, present and future.”