President Obama was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s blocking his executive action over illegal immigration, thanks to a 4-4 tie.
“It takes us further from the country we aspire to be,” Obama sighed while speaking at the White House.
These are students, teachers, doctors, etc. – “they’re Americans in every way but on paper,” he said.
The stalemate prevents Obama from deferring the deportation of millions of immigrants in the DAPA program. While Thursday’s decision does not affect existing DREAMers, it is “heartbreaking” for immigrants who raised families here, he said.
The court’s lack of a ruling is the direct consequence of “Republican failure to give fair hearing to Merrick Garland,” Obama argued. They refuse to “fully staff” the bench.
Obama also blamed the SCOTUS outcome on the fact that it’s an election year, arguing that candidates are using immigration to “scare people.” They are using the word “amnesty,” he insisted, to “whip up votes.”
The president skewered Donald Trump’s immigration plans in particular, arguing that building a wall and deporting millions of illegal immigrant amounts to “abetting what is factually incorrect.”
“It’s not going to work,” he said. “It’s a fantasy.”
“Immigration is not something to fear,” the president continued, before noting that immigration reform “will happen.”