Sonia Sotomayor – Impeachment News and Resources

By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Texas and Louisiana Friday in a lawsuit over a Biden administration policy that’s helped effectively end most deportations of foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally.

Rather than rule on the merits of the case, in United States v. Texas, the court ruled 8-1 that the states didn’t have standing, or a legal right, to challenge the policy.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the sole dissent, arguing the justices ignored “a major precedent.”

He wrote:

“The Court holds Texas lacks standing to challenge a federal policy that inflicts substantial harm on the State and its residents by releasing illegal aliens with criminal convictions for serious crimes.

In order to reach this conclusion, the Court brushes aside a major precedent that directly controls the standing question, refuses to apply our established test for standing, disregards factual findings made by the District Court after a trial, and holds that the only limit on the power of a President to disobey a law like the important provision at issue is Congress’s power to employ the weapons of inter-branch warfare – withholding funds, impeachment and removal, etc. I would not blaze this unfortunate trail. I would simply apply settled law, which leads ineluctably to the conclusion that Texas has standing.”

Last June, a federal judge in Texas, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, ruled in favor of Texas and Louisiana, arguing they would incur costs due to the federal government’s failure to comply with federal immigration law and deportation policies. The judge ruled the states had standing to sue because of these costs. He also vacated the deportation policy, arguing it was unlawful.

The Biden administration appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which again handed a victory to the states by declining to stay the lower court’s ruling. The Biden administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted cert. Last fall, the court heard oral arguments and on Friday ruled the states lacked Article III standing.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority and was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a different opinion saying the states didn’t have standing for a different reason than the one Kavanaugh gave. He was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett also wrote her own concurring opinion and was joined by Gorsuch.

At issue is a final memorandum, “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law,” issued by Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, drastically altering deportation policies, including limiting issuing detainer requests for dangerous criminal aliens.

In Mayorkas’ final September 2021 memorandum, he also challenged federal law established by Congress that illegal entry is a crime in itself and a deportable offense. The policy states: “The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen therefore should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them. We will use our discretion and focus our enforcement resources in a more targeted way. Justice and our country’s well-being require it.”

Many news organizations reported the Supreme Court ruling would allow the administration to prioritize deporting violent criminals. But under the current administration, deportations immediately dropped by two-thirds in the first fiscal year of the administration, according to CBP data. In fiscal 2021, deportations also dropped to the lowest level since fiscal 1996 despite record-high illegal entries.

Mayorkas’ policy also followed President Joe Biden’s directive, who after taking office ordered a “pause” on deportations.

Last July, 19 attorneys general filed an amicus brief expressing support for Texas’ and Louisiana’s lawsuit, arguing Mayorkas violated federal law and DHS’s actions negatively impacted their states and jeopardized the safety and welfare of Americans.

The AGs argued, and still maintain, “The Amici States and their citizens continue to suffer significant costs from illegal immigration – including billions of dollars in new expenses relating to law enforcement, education, and healthcare programs – as a direct result of Defendants’ failures to enforce immigration law. Those harms are exacerbated by DHS’ increasingly brazen disrespect for the requirements of our nation’s immigration laws and the Administrative Procedure Act.

“The border is in crisis,” they argued. “This DHS Administration is lawless. And the States continue to suffer escalating irreparable harm as the border crisis continually intensifies to successive, ever-more unprecedented levels of illegal crossings.”

Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.

The post Supreme Court Deals Major Blow To Texas, Louisiana In Deportation Lawsuit appeared first on The Political Insider.

Amidst calls for his impeachment by some Democrats, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has found an unlikely defender – Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Sotomayor offered praise for her colleague, stating he is a very personable individual who “cares deeply” about the integrity of the court.

“Justice Thomas is the one justice in the building that literally knows every employee’s name, every one of them,” she told attendees of the American Constitution Society’s 2022 national convention on Thursday.

“And not only does he know their names, he remembers their families’ names and histories.”

She said despite their differences of opinion on how to help people, they maintain a friendship because she knows Thomas is a “man who cares deeply about the court as an institution … about the people who work here.”

As the Supreme Court prepares for the end of the most tumultuous term in decades, Justice Sonia Sotomayor says she and Justice Clarence Thomas share a “common understanding about people and kindness” https://t.co/523bw0VLOE

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 17, 2022

Sonia Sotomayor Defends Clarence Thomas

Sonia Sotomayor’s kind words towards Clarence Thomas were a rare moment of positivity for the longest-serving justice, the second black justice, and the most conservative member currently serving on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor hasn’t always lobbed kindness towards conservatives on the Supreme Court, however.

In oral arguments regarding Roe v. Wade, she suggested the Court was not considering the law itself, but rather seeking to pursue its reversal due to the makeup of the justices.

“Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?” she asked.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a consistent supporter of abortion rights, grilled Mississippi’s solicitor general, asking whether the institution of the Supreme Court would “survive the stench” of overturning Roe in what would appear to be a political act. https://t.co/sbHcIObnjQ

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 1, 2021

They Want Him Gone

Sonia Sotomayor’s comment comes as Democrats have been actively calling for Thomas’ impeachment due to the alleged conduct of his wife, Virginia Thomas.

Reports have surfaced that Thomas’ wife exchanged text messages with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and other officials about alleged election fraud.

Clarence Thomas should resign.

If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 29, 2022

A petition by the far-left group MoveOn.org calling for Thomas’ impeachment has eclipsed 236,000 signatures. Politico reports that House Democrats are “outraged” over the situation with his wife and they have the option to impeach.

Far-left Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is demanding Thomas resign or face impeachment for what she has determined are ethical breaches.

“Clarence Thomas should resign,” AOC tweeted.

“If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.”

SOTOMAYOR: “Over 100,000 children” are hospitalized due to COVID, with “many on ventilators”

BRET BAIER: “The number’s not 100,000. It’s roughly 3,500 in hospitals now?”

WALENSKY: “Yes.”

How did Sotomayor make it on the Supreme Court?pic.twitter.com/ANapx1MbCq

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 9, 2022

Sotomayor made a widely panned false claim about the seriousness of COVID infection in children during oral arguments over the Biden administration’s efforts to mandate vaccines.

“We have over 100,000 children, which we’ve never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators” due to the coronavirus, she said.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky would later state that the Supreme Court Justice was wrong, pointing out at the time there were 3,500 children in the hospital.

Thomas meanwhile, joked to the media about when he’d be leaving the Supreme Court.

Clarence Thomas says he’s told the media for a long time that he’ll leave his job when he gets as bad at it as the media is at theirs. This is great: pic.twitter.com/mjh9ozaxuV

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 16, 2022

“One of the things I’d say in response to the media is when they talk about, especially early on, about the way I did my job, I said ‘I will absolutely leave the court when I do my job as poorly as you do yours,'” he recalled. “And that was meant as a compliment really.”

The audience erupted in laughter.

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The post Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Defends Clarence Thomas Amid Calls For Impeachment: ‘Cares Deeply About The Court’ appeared first on The Political Insider.