Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, and her Democratic allies in Congress just got some terrible news from the Supreme Court.
They tried to push a major immigration case that critics warned would’ve granted American citizenship to countless illegal immigrants through a legal loophole.
Pundits argued that Democrats advocated for undermined the spirit of U.S. immigration law.
The Supreme Court just ruled on the case… and the ruling was a unanimous 9-0 verdict against Warren and her allies.
Both liberals and conservative lawmakers rejected the plaintiff’s plea, with liberal Justice Elena Kagan writing the opinion.
The plaintiff in the case, Jose Santos Sanchez, had been seeking to become a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.
But Sanchez hadn’t entered the country under legal pretense.
According to Kagan’s opinion, in the 1990s the plaintiff came to America and was granted a temporary stay which allowed him to work (Temporary Protected Status, or TPS).
The designation applies to refugees who come from countries ravaged by war or disaster. It protects them from deportation and allows them to work legally. There are 400,000 people from 12 countries with TPS status currently in the United States.
However, critics point out that Sanchez broke the law by coming into the country illegally.
Sen. Warren and the Democrats were hoping his temporary status could be used to allow permanent residency.
The House of Representatives already has passed legislation that would make it possible for TPS recipients to become permanent residents, Kagan noted. The bill faces uncertain prospects in the Senate.
Kagan writes that America “generally requires a lawful admission before a person can obtain LPR status. Sanchez was not lawfully admitted, and his TPS does not alter that fact. He therefore cannot become a permanent resident of this country.”
Monday’s decision does not affect immigrants with TPS who initially entered the U.S. legally and then, say, overstayed their visa, Kagan noted. Because those people were legally admitted to the country and later were given humanitarian protections, they can seek to become permanent residents.
The Horn editorial team and The Associated Press contributed to this article