After being frozen last February by a Texas judge, there seems to be no progress to date on the fate of Barack Obama's executive order on immigration.
And such has not only left the matter hanging, it also leaves a lot of people affected, wondering if they will be covered on possible deportation proceedings or not.
To recall, Obama's executive action could have provided legal status and work permits about five million immigrant children and their parents under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs. But right now, with the intervention of Congress, that promise has turned into uncertainty as they continue to see what would happen to them eventually.
Nearing the end of 2015, there has been no progress on the matter. There have been seemingly false hopes given, with constant announcements that the matter on immigration to be resolved soon. In fact, a ruling was expected as early as September and nothing transpired.
From the looks of it and in the eyes of many, the case is likely to land in the Supreme Court.
Obama remains confident that his executive plans will be upheld. Apparently, the time element is of more importance right now despite the positive outlook of the U.S. president. The thing is would all of these be resolved before he steps down by 2017?
A ray of hope does evolve with individuals vying for the presidency claiming that they would uphold the order. But there could be underlying repercussions as well and a lot hinges on what the courts decide on the said law.
A setback on the matter would restrict executive actions on immigration in the future. Most Republican candidates have pledged to undo DAPA and DACA.
As it is and whatever comes out of it, the folks who are seemingly keeping tabs on the verdict are the ones caught in the middle of this debate. And for now, that is the best thing they can do — wait.
