President Obama said most illegal immigrants still won’t be deported, even after the Supreme Court’s tie ruling Thursday upheld an injunction on his broader deportation amnesty.
Mr. Obama rushed to assure illegal immigrants with ties to the U.S. that they are “low priorities,” even though they will not be able to get the work permits and taxpayer benefits his “deferred action” program had promised.
And he said the 4-4 tie was more evidence for the need to confirm Judge Merrick Garland, his pick to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia, to the high court.
Speaking less than two hours after the court’s ruling, Mr. Obama said it “takes us further from the country we aspire to be,” and delays a solution to a broken system that has allowed an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to arrive and settle here.
The president also challenged voters to punish those who want stricter enforcement of immigration laws. – READ MORE