The Supreme Court narrowly handed President Trump a victory last week when it stayed a lower-court injunction against a controversial new immigration policy.
According to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, that’s a problem.
Sotomayor calls decision “troubling”
“Today’s decision follows a now-familiar pattern,” the Obama appointee complained in a sharply worded dissent on Friday.
“The Government seeks emergency relief from this Court, asking it to grant a stay where two lower courts have not,” she continued. “The Government insists — even though review in a court of appeals is imminent — that it will suffer irreparable harm if this Court does not grant a stay. And the Court yields.”
“It is hard to say what is more troubling,” Sotomayor went on. “That the government would seek this extraordinary relief seemingly as a matter of course, or that the Court would grant it.”
The Supreme Court justice was airing her thoughts regarding Wolf v. Cook County, a case that hinges on the Trump administration’s “public charge rule.”
Trump’s policy expands the number of government services that immigrants are prohibited from taking advantage of, including Medicaid, housing vouchers and food stamps.
However, a federal district court in Illinois imposed an injunction prohibiting its implementation, something the Supreme Court opted to stay on Friday.
The choice to stay the injunction was made on a 5-4 basis, with the justices lining up along ideological lines. A similar decision was reached after a challenge made in New York.
White House: Immigrants “should be financially self-reliant”
While Sotomayor may have been displeased by the outcome, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was jubilant. “We are gratified by the Supreme Court ruling on Friday night lifting the final remaining injunction on the public charge regulation,” she said in a statement.
“This final rule will protect hardworking American taxpayers, safeguard welfare programs for truly needy Americans, reduce the Federal deficit, and re-establish the fundamental legal principle that newcomers to our society should be financially self-reliant and not dependent on the largess of United States taxpayers.”
With the injunction now stayed, The Hill has reported that the new policy will come into immediate effect on Monday.
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