President Barack Obama's plans to protect millions of young immigrants and their parents from deportation died at the U.S. Supreme Court today.
The case, which ended with the justices tied in a deadlock, would have had an especially broad effect in Colorado.
Here's what the orders would have done.
One of Obama's rejected efforts was known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA. The court's deadlock also kills Obama's efforts to expand DACA, short for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
According to Vox, the orders would have offered relief to:
- An older set of people than those who are currently protected by DACA.
- Young people who arrived between 2007 and 2010; DACA currently applies to pre-2007 arrivals.
- Parents of immigrants and permanent residents who have been in the country since Jan. 1, 2010.
What's next?
The news impacts millions of families, and it is particularly relevant in Colorado, where the original DACA program has proved popular. Accounting for population, Colorado has the fifth highest number of DACA recipients. We wrote earlier about its benefits for a young Denverite named Daniel Castellanos.
People who got DACA protection under the original program, including Castellanos, won't be immediately effected, but the news today "does raise questions" for them, according to Politico.
Obama said that the decision effectively freezes his immigration reform plans and puts the question to voters in the presidential election.
