The US Supreme Court was asked on Monday by the state of Texas to give it additional time to file court papers regarding its battle with the federal government over the executive actions taken on immigration reform by President Obama. If the Supreme Court agrees to the delay, any ruling might be postponed until there is a new president in the White House.
Texas led 26 Republican states in seeing in a bid to prevent the plan unveiled by the president in November last year to stop the possible deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants. Lower courts agreed with the lawsuit and blocked the implementation of the executive action, resulting in the Justice Department launching an appeal with the Supreme Court last Friday.
The request was made for an extension of 30 days for the filing of court papers by Scott Keller, the solicitor general of Texas. If the Supreme Court grants the request, it could see time run out for the case to be heard by the court in the current term, which ends in June 2016. Oral arguments would then not be made until the fall of next year, with a ruling unlikely until after the next president takes office in January 2017.
The extension has been opposed by the Obama administration and legal experts say there is a chance it may counter the move by asking for the case to be expedited by the court.