This morning, the Supreme Court deadlocked on the decision in Texas v. U.S., 4-4. That means the lower court ruling stands. That means that, for now, 4 million people must continue to live in the shadows.
I want to make one thing clear: This case was forum-shopped political theater. The same Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas who spearheaded this hateful lawsuit (and filed it in a district where he knew the judge was anti-immigrant) also filed to block the resettlementof Syrian refugees. The xenophobia that fueled this lawsuit also fuels the Islamophobia we fight on a daily basis.
Where laws break up families, send people into for-profit detention centers, are applied inconsistently and unpredictably, and facially discriminate on the basis of religion and national origin, they absolutely become a civil rights issue.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming today’s loss was about undocumented Latinos. Or even immigration. This was a major victory for that political base that thrives on fearmongering, resists collaboration, and conceives of policies designed to malign and divide.
They blocked confirmation of a 9th Supreme Court justice, knowing that a 4-4 tie (which happened today in more than one case) would kill the policy. If they win the White House, the replacement justice will help deny each and every pro-immigrant measure Congress may seek to put forward, if it ever could.
Do we not think such a Supreme Court would uphold crazy ideas like Muslim immigration bans? So this becomes a voting issue as well. If the White House goes to Trump & Company, the immigration decisions for all immigrants – not just “Latinos” – are going to be “really, really bad.” We’re all in the same fight.
This is the time – today – to stand together with *all* immigrant groups. And not just because we have skin in this game. It’s the right thing to do if we want an inclusive and open America. It doesn’t matter if you’re an immigrant or not. Sooner or later, these divisive policies will come for you.
This isn’t over.
