María Blanco Interviewed on Supreme Court Rulings on Capital Public Radio

María Blanco, Executive Director of the UC Undocumented Legal Services Center, was interviewed on the Capital Public Radio program Insight with Beth Ruyak regarding recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in cases involving abortion, affirmative action, and immigration. 

Blanco said that while it's always difficult to try to summarize the various rulings issued at the end of each term, it is possible to find some common themes in this term's decisions.  

"I think Justice Scalia's absence has been felt in all of these rulings," said Blanco, who has more than 30 years of experience working in constitutional law as a civil rights attorney.  "Justice Kennedy's reputation as a centrist who is a swing vote has been borne out by these decisions, and I think that the women justices have been very powerful in this term."

Blanco also discussed the role of the Undocumented Legal Services Center.  Operating out of UC Davis School of Law, the center provides legal assistance to support the needs of undocumented and AB 540-eligible students and their families at UC campuses without law schools: UC Merced, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and UC Riverside.  

Blanco said that many in the immigrant community were disappointed with the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Texas, a case concerning the constitutionality of the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program. The Justices split 4-4 on the case, leaving in place a U.S. District Court injunction blocking implementation of the immigration reform program. The fate of the program depends upon the outcome of the next presidential election, she said.

"If we have a president who continues the program, and who appoints a Supreme Court justice who upholds the program, then things will change," said Blanco.