DAPA Stalled; Is TSI a Valid Alternative? - Brent Renison

Brent Renison, June 23, 2016- "Today the Supreme Court upheld the denial of the DAPA program in a split, 4 to 4 tie decision, issuing only a one sentence ruling, "The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court."  That means that DAPA (and also expanded DACA) will not go into effect.  The current DACA program remains unaffected, however, and will continue.

With the nation's highest court ruling effectively that DAPA cannot proceed, it is now time for the administration to consider implementing an alternative, which I proposed last year, which would also lead to work permits being issued to parents of american citizens with a long residence in the United States.  The alternative is the "Turn Self in for Deportation" alternative, and it is linked to a different executive power than the DACA program, and one that is less likely to fail in court like the DAPA program.  The alternative is founded on current law, the "cancellation of removal" statute, and the power of the executive branch to "commence proceedings, adjudicate cases, or execute removal orders" without judicial review.  The alternative, in short, requires the administration to allow the individuals who have been here for 10 years and who have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident child, spouse or parent to be issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) in immigration court, allow them to file a Cancellation of Removal application and work permit application, then Administratively Close their case so it gets out of the streamline of pending cases.

Because of the importance of this issue, I will reproduce the original blog post below in order to describe how such an alternative can work under existing law and be immune from judicial intervention. ... "