A coalition of mayors from around the country, including New York City’s Bill de Blasio, have filed an amicus brief pushing for the U.S. Supreme Court to let President Barack Obama execute his executive action on immigration.
Some of the big players in this coalition include Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Birmingham Mayor William Bell.
“Immigrants are part of the economic and social fabric of our cities and nation,” said de Blasio in a statement concerning United States v. Texas. “They work in and own businesses, shop in our stores and send their children to our schools. But the long-delayed implementation of the president’s executive action is tearing those families and our communities apart. I urge the Supreme Court to overturn this injustice to give millions of undocumented immigrants the relief they deserve and our cities the strong foundation they need to thrive.”
“Over 100 cities and counties stood together today to make it clear, millions of immigrant families in our cities and counties cannot wait a minute longer for relief,” added Commissioner Nisha Agarwal of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “Through Cities for Action, cities have joined together to defend and implement the president’s executive actions on immigration. A Supreme Court decision to uphold the president’s executive action on immigration will give American families the stability and security they deserve.”
City Hall officials noted that the delay of the executive action’s implementation affects 4 million people nationwide and 220,000 New Yorkers who are trying to keep their families intact.
Last year, the Obama administration, via executive action, launched programs to shield millions of immigrants from possible deportation. Several dozen states, including Texas, believe that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americas would increase their education, health care and law enforcement costs.
Oral arguments in United States v. Texas are scheduled for April 18.
However, the coalition isn’t the only group of leaders to push for Obama’s executive action. In another brief, signed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other business leaders/entrepreneurs (and provided to the website Fusion), there was emphasis on the economic benefit of letting Obama move forward with his executive action.
“Instead of inviting the economic contributions of immigrants, our immigration enforcement policies have often inhibited the productivity of U.S. companies and made it harder for them to compete in the global marketplace,” read part of the brief. “By contrast, the continuing threat of removal and other uncertainties facing undocumented individuals weaken our economy,”