Thanks to a 4-4 deadlock Thursday, the Supreme Court blocked President Obama's effort to prevent more than 4 million undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation.

 

"I see this as a true win for the Constitution of the United States," Representative Dan Newhouse said Thursday morning.  "It underscores the separation of powers in this country.  Congress writes the laws.  The Executive Branch enforces those laws.  Not the other way around.”

 

Newhouse said immigration reform is still vital for the American people, and the agriculture community sees that first hand.

 

“And I’m committed to working with people on both sides of the isle to get this important legislation solution done.  We do have a lot of work ahead of us to get that accomplished.  It’s something that our agriculture industry absolutely needs, our communities need.”

 

Earlier this month, Newhouse was one of 102 members of Congress who sent a letter to U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Leon Rodriguez saying that breakdowns in the H-2A program must be fixed.

 

The Supreme Court’s tie leaves intact a preliminary injunction that stopped President Obama’s program more than a year ago, after Texas and 25 other states claimed the President lacked the authority to go around Congress.  While the case now will return to Texas for further review, it's unlikely the lower federal courts that blocked the program temporarily will reverse themselves.

 

 

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