Obama Immigration Defeat Could Help Dems Win

The Supreme Court's tie vote on President Obama's immigration plan yesterday killed off that part of his legacy—but it may have made it more likely that Hillary Clinton will be his successor. Democrats say the ruling, which blocks a plan to shield more than 4 million immigrant parents of US citizens from deportation, will help energize Hispanic voters in key states like Florida, boosting both registration and turnout, the New York Times reports. The Clinton campaign already has a plan in place to mobilize the estimated 27 million eligible Hispanic voters across the country. Democratic strategist Steve Schale says Obama won 60% of the Hispanic vote in Florida in 2012, and the latest ruling means Clinton could boost that to at least 70%.

President Obama rejected suggestions that the ruling addressed his controversial use of executive power and said the decision is now up to voters, the Los Angeles Times reports. "We're going to have to make a decision about whether we are a people who tolerate the hypocrisy of a system where the workers who pick our fruit or make our beds never have the chance to get right with the law, or whether we're going to give them a chance, just like our forebears had a chance, to take responsibility and give their kids a better future," he said. He also called once again for lawmakers to act on his nomination of Merrick Garland for the vacant seat on the court. "The Supreme Court wasn't definitive one way or the other on this," he said. "The problem is, they don't have a ninth justice." (More immigration reform stories.)