BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Attorney General applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday that effectively stalled a controversial amnesty program pushed by the Obama administration to reform immigration policy meant to pave the way for 4.5 million undocumented immigrants to gain legal status and protect them from deportation.
“I was proud to stand with Texas and 24 other states in this case, and I will continue to do all that I can to fight federal overreach and tackle illegal immigration – from preventing sanctuary cities to closing our borders,” Landry said. “We must do so to reduce crime and improve public safety.”
The Supreme Court judges deadlocked 4-4 in the United States v. Texas case, meaning the ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stands in preventing the president’s "deferred action" programs from going into effect.
“The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court,” the court ruling stated.
Landry said that although the proceedings in this matter are not over, he is confident the results will not change and the proper balance between the branches of government will be maintained.
“As I have often said – the executive branch cannot unilaterally make or change law, as that is the Congress or a state legislature's constitutionally valid function," he said. "Today, the court confirmed that. The president has repeatedly shown lax support of immigration laws and disregard for the separation of powers.”
Louisiana Citizens for Job Creators also rang in its support.
“This is a big win against Obama’s abuse of powers that circumvented the legislative branch in order to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants,” a representative for the organization said. “We need conservative leaders in Louisiana, like Jeff Landry, who will fight against abuses of power by the executive branch. The fight isn't over, and Jeff will continue to stand up against illegal immigration like he did on dangerous sanctuary city policies in Louisiana.”
FreedomWorks also said it was a “victory for the constitution.”
“There are three branches of government, and each of them was intended to have equal power,” Freedomworks CEO Adam Brandon said. “There is no special clause that grants a president power when he can’t get his way. While today’s ruling is welcome news, Congress still has a long way to go before it restores the constitutional separation of powers and ends the imperial presidency.”
The court’s deadlock could be revisited after a new Supreme Court justice is appointed to take the spot formerly held by deceased Justice Antonin Scalia.