Gorsuch was the tie breaking vote by joining all of the liberal justices in handing Trump and the conservative justices a defeat on immigration and deportation this morning. Case is Sessions v. Dimaya, 15-1498. www.scotusblog.com/...
SCOTUS first heard this case in January 2017 but deadlocked when there were only 8 Justices because Justice Antonin Scalia's seat had not yet been filled — because Senate Republicans would not even hold a hearing for Pres Obama’s nominee — Merrick Garland.
SCOTUS heard this case again after Justice Gorsuch was confirmed. Today, SCOTUS ruled against the Trump Administration in a 5-4 vote with Gorsuch voting with Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan .
The Court today ruled that part of a federal law that makes it easier to deport immigrants convicted of crimes is too vague.
from www.businessinsider.com/...
The case the high court ruled in involves James Dimaya, a native of the Philippines who came to the United States legally as a 13-year-old in 1992. After he pleaded no contest to two charges of burglary in California, the government began deportation proceedings against him. The government argued among other things that he could be removed from the country because his convictions qualified as crimes of violence that allowed his removal under immigration law.
Surprisingly, this loss for Trump is also a “loss” for President Obama's administration policy as the Obama administration defended the provision at issue before the Supreme Court.
Quite a few surprises.