Clinton: SCOTUS Ruling On Obama Immigration Actions ‘Unacceptable’

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a Planned Parenthood Action Fund membership event, Friday, June 10, 2016 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Hillary Clinton expressed disappointment Thursday morning in the Supreme Court’s “unacceptable” tied vote that effectively blocked President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

“Today’s deadlocked decision from the Supreme Court is unacceptable, and show us all just how high the stakes are in this election. As I have consistently said, I believe that President Obama acted well within his constitutional and legal authority in issuing the DAPA and DACA executive actions,” Clinton said in a statement.

“These are our friends and family members; neighbors and classmates; DREAMers and parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents. They enrich our communities and contribute to our economy every day. We should be doing everything possible under the law to provide them relief from the specter of deportation,” she continued.

The Supreme Court’s tied vote upholds a lower court’s previous ruling that blocked Obama’s executive actions that keep certain undocumented immigrants from being deported.

Clinton called the Supreme Court’s ruling “purely procedural” and railed against Senate Republicans for refusing to confirm Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court.

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is purely procedural and casts no doubt on the fact that DAPA and DACA are entirely within the President’s legal authority,” she said. “But in addition to throwing millions of families across our country into a state of uncertainty, this decision reminds us how much damage Senate Republicans are doing by refusing to consider President Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Our families and our country need and deserve a full bench, and Senate Republicans need to stop playing political games with our democracy and give Judge Merrick Garland a fair hearing and vote.”

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also railed against Donald Trump’s views on immigration.

“This decision is also a stark reminder of the harm Donald Trump would do to our families, our communities, and our country. Trump has pledged to repeal President Obama’s executive actions on his first day in office. He has called Mexican immigrants ‘rapists’ and ‘murderers.’ He has called for creating a deportation force” to tear 11 million people away from their families and their homes,” Clinton said.

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