Barrett's Textualism Could Doom Immigration Challenges (Law360)

Suzanne Monyack, Law360, Sept. 28, 2020

"U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett's tendency to defer to the executive branch's authority could pave the way for the Trump administration to prevail against challenges to its immigration policies, from the rollback of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to its wealth test for immigrants. ... Judge Barrett wrote that the term "public charge" in the federal immigration statute "is indeterminate enough to leave room for interpretation" and gives DHS "relatively wide discretion" to determine the factors that make an individual likely to become a public charge.  "Judge Barrett's long dissent shows her emphasis on relying on a statute's text and her deference to an agency's interpretation of the law, even if that interpretation changes," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell University Law School.  The opinion also shows her "flair for writing," he added.  "She is logical and easy to understand, even if you disagree with her outcome," Yale-Loehr said."