June 23, 2016
Contact: Kyle Roerink
Phone: 202-657-3219

Today Representative Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District issued a statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 decision that upholds a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s immigration programs known as expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA). President Obama proposed these programs in 2014 after Republicans in the U.S. House refused to move forward on a comprehensive immigration reform bill drafted by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators known as the Gang of Eight. Post haste, 23 Republican governors filed a lawsuit, United States V. Texas, to halt the president’s executive actions. 

“The Supreme Court’s action is bad for Nevada and the rest of the country,” Rep. Titus said. “For years, millions of families have had to remain in the shadows because of the GOP’s refusal to pass a reform bill in Congress and more recently a politically driven lawsuit.  This problem is especially acute in Nevada where ten percent of the workforce is undocumented and more than 17 percent of students have at least one undocumented parent. Republicans can address this situation by working with Democrats to pass a comprehensive reform plan. It’s time for Republicans to do their job. We should focus on keeping families together, not building walls.”    

Background on expanded DACA and DAPA:  

The measures would have provided relief to more than 5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who meet strict criteria outlined by the Department of Homeland Security. They would have allowed certain undocumented parents and children to have temporary protection from deportation and opportunities to apply for work permits after Homeland Security officials conduct background checks and case-by-case reviews of applicants.