Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/327270
BySamHananel TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON A divided Supreme Court ruled Mon- day that most immigrant children who have become adults during their parents' years-long wait to become legal permanent residents of the United States should go to the back of the line in their own wait for visas. In a 5-4 decision, the jus- tices sided with the Obama administration in finding that immigration laws offer relief only to a tiny percent- age of children who "age out" of the system when they turn 21. The major- ity — tens of thousands of children— no longer qual- ify for the immigration sta- tus granted to minors. The case is unusual in that it pitted the adminis- tration against immigration reform advocates who said government officials were misreading a law intended to keep families together by preventing added delays for children seeking visas. The ruling also features President Barack Obama's two court appointees — Jus- tices Elena Kagan and So- nia Sotomayor — on oppos- ing sides of a complicated debate over what the law means and what Congress intended when it wrote the laws governing wait times for children seeking visas. The case does not have any impact on the recent in- flux of thousands of immi- grant children traveling on their own to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. Five justices agreed with the outcome of the case but there was no majority opin- ion.Writingforthreejustices, Kagan said the law preserves the place in line for a child whose petition for a visa was filed directly by a parent who isagreencardholder,butnot for children in other catego- ries. She was joined by Jus- tices Anthony Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Chief Justice John Rob- erts and Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a separate opinion agreeing only with the outcome, but not Ka- gan's reasoning. Because approving fam- ilies for green cards can take years, tens of thou- sands of immigrant chil- dren age out of the system each year, according to gov- ernment estimates. Con- gress tried to fix the prob- lem in 2002 when it passed the Child Status Protection Act. The law allows aged- out children to retain their child status longer or qual- ify for a valid adult cate- gory and keep their place in line. But appeals courts have split over whether the law applies to all children or only those in specific cat- egories. The Obama ad- ministration argued that the law applied only to a narrow category of immi- grants, leaving out most of the children affected. Gov- ernment attorneys said that applying the law too broadly would lead to too many young adults entering the country ahead of others waiting in line. Immigration advocates assert that the law was passed to promote family unity. According to Catho- lic Legal Immigration Net- work, forcing an aged-out child to go back to the end of the line would increase his or her wait time by more than nine years. By con- trast, it says keeping the child's priority dates would increase the wait time for others by just a few months. The case involved Rosa- lina Cuellar de Osorio, a Sal- vadoran immigrant who was in line for a visa along with her 13-year-old son. But af- ter years of waiting, her son turned 21 and government officials said he no longer qualified as an eligible child. He was placed at the back of the line, resulting in a wait of several more years. The family won its chal- lenge before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but the Supreme Court re- versed that decision. In a lengthy dissent, So- tomayor said there is no conflict in the law and it should be read to clearly allow all aged-out children to keep their place in line. She quotes a book by Sca- lia in which he says courts "do not lightly presume that Congress has legislated in self-contradicting terms." Sotomayor was joined in dissent by Justices Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas. Justice Samuel Alito wrote a separate dissent. A group of lawmakers in Congress when the law was passed — including Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Or- rin Hatch, R-Utah, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Di- anne Feinstein, D-Calif. — submitted a brief arguing against the government in the case. SCOTUS Co ur t: C hi ld re n ov er 21 go to back of visa line By Erica Werner The Associated Press WASHINGTON Some of the nation's leading businesses are prodding lawmakers to act on immigration leg- islation as the issue enters a critical phase on Capitol Hill. In a letter to be released Tuesday, the chief execu- tives of Coca-Cola, McDon- ald's, Loews Hotels, Tyson Foods, Cargill and a half- dozen other national and regional companies write that without action to over- haul ineffective immigra- tion laws and allow lower- skilled workers into the country legally, their busi- nesses cannot ensure the workforce they need. "This is indispensable for our businesses, but it's also critical for the na- tion," the executives write. "Without a workable tem- porary visa program, the U.S. can have no hope of ending illegal immigra- tion." A copy of the letter was obtained in advance by The Associated Press. The letter comes as House Republican lead- ers confront a narrowing window to act on over- hauling immigration laws nearly a year after the Sen- ate passed a bipartisan bill with billions for border se- curity and a path to citi- zenship for the millions now here illegally. The Senate bill also in- cluded a new visa program for lower-skilled workers, like the one sought by the authors of the business let- ter. They note that there is presently no real way for lower-skilled workers without family in the U.S. to come here legally for year-round employment. "Congress has an obliga- tion to fill this gap," they write. Many business lobby- ists, advocates and others believe that if Congress does not act before leav- ing Washington for an an- nual August recess, there will be no chance of pass- ing immigration legisla- tion this midterm election year, and likely not until a new president has taken office in 2017. They are fo- cused intently on the next month or so as the best and final opportunity to get the issue moving in the House. Although House Speaker John Boehner has not pub- licly indicated any plans to bring bills to the floor, a small group of lawmakers and aides is working be- hind the scenes to ready legislation in case the op- portunity emerges. Advocates are intensely interested in the outcome of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary elec- tion on Tuesday as a pos- sible indication of chances for action. Cantor, R-Va., is facing a challenge from a tea party candidate who's accusing him of being pro- "amnesty," a charge Can- tor has vigorously com- bated. Cantor is not seen as threatened in the elec- tion but his victory margin may give fresh evidence of the political potency of the topic, which so far has not emerged as a major issue in this year's primaries. Meanwhile outside ad- vocates and White House officials are working hard to keep immigration in the spotlight. President Barack Obama met at the White House Monday with a group of nurses to discuss the issue, which is one of his top second-term pri- orities. He told them he thought there was a 50-50 chance of House action in the next month — perhaps higher if they kept up their advocacy — according to Alvin Vitug, a 31-year-old registered nurse from Bur- bank, who attended. If Congress doesn't move by August, Obama is widely expected to act on his own executive author- ity to take steps to curb deportations, which have reached record highs on his watch. WASHINGTON Business heads urge Congress to take action on immigration reform THEARIZONAREPUBLIC,PATRICKBREEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A bus carrying children arrives to a border patrol facility in Nogales, Ariz., on Saturday. "Without a workable temporary visa program, the U.S. can have no hope of ending illegal immigration." — Part of letter addressed to Congress on behalf of coalition of business groups Paid Advertisement TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B