Dean Johnson Debates Obama Immigration Policy on Scholar's Mate

Dean Kevin R. Johnson was interviewed on the PublicSquare.net program Scholar's Mate regarding the U.S. Supreme Court case U.S. v. Texas, in which Texas and other states are challenging President Obama's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program.

Announced in 2014, DAPA would defer immigration enforcement for certain undocumented immigrants whose children are American citizens or legal permanent residents. Dean Johnson was called upon to debate the merits of the program, which he largely supports, with Professor John C. Eastman of Chapman University Fowler School of Law, a critic of DAPA.

"I think it's very important to remember that this is one step in a much larger national debate about immigration reform," Dean Johnson said. "In the end, the only place where immigration reform of any durability is going to be accomplished is through Congress.  I think President Obama has taken a measured step in this instance to fill the gap in the interim before Congress acts, and to me it seems very much within his powers as president and under the Immigration and Nationality Act."

Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.