Senate Dems rip GOP on immigration ruling

Senate Democrats grilled Republicans Thursday, saying they are to blame for the Supreme Court blocking President Obama’s immigration programs.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) was among those who linked the tied 4-4 ruling to a stalled fight over confirming Merrick Garland, Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

“Today’s decision shows the terrible human cost of Senate Republicans’ reckless refusal to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by Justice Scalia’s death,” he said in a statement.

{mosads}Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), calling the ruling “disappointing,” adding it “highlights how a hobbled Court is unable to provide justice.”

“It showcased the need for a fully functioning Supreme Court and for Republicans to move without delay on the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland,” he added in a separate statement.

The Supreme Court undercut a key Obama priority Thursday, deadlocking over his controversial immigration programs.

The court upheld a lower court’s ruling that blocks the programs from going forward, effectively killing the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) for the remainder of Obama’s presidency.

Durbin added that the Justice Department “should explore all legal options for swiftly overturning the unjust national injunction.”

DAPA has been under increased scrutiny because allows undocumented immigrants who are parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to temporarily stay in the country and apply for work permits.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said the Supreme Court’s 4-4 decision “is brought to you by Republican obstruction.”

“If Senate Republicans were not engaged in unprecedented obstruction against Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, he would be serving on our highest court today and the court would be at full strength and capable of resolving important cases,” he added.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), expected to be the next Senate Democratic leader, said “the responsibility for the legal limbo that results from a deadlocked court lies solely with Senate Republicans.”

GOP leadership has shown no signs of letting Garland get a hearing or a vote. Instead, Republican senators quickly celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision, arguing it’s a check on executive overreach. 

“By going around Congress to grant legal status to millions of people here illegally, the President abused the power of his office and ignored the will of the American people,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said in a statement. “The President can’t circumvent the legislative process simply because he doesn’t get what he wants.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who announced his reelection bid Wednesday following his failed campaign for the White House, said, separately, the Supreme Court’s ruling was “the right decision.”

“We have a disastrous immigration system that needs to be fixed, and Congress needs to take the lead in doing so by starting by securing our borders and enforcing our laws,” he added.

Rubio and Cornyn both signed on to a brief, backed by 43 GOP senators, earlier this year, urging the court to strike down Obama’s actions.

Schumer said he was hopeful a full Supreme Court would take up the immigration case and reverse the ruling.