The U.S. Supreme Court divided evenly over President Barack Obama’s plan to shield as many as 4 million unauthorized immigrants from deportation, a deadlock that effectively kills the initiative for the rest of his presidency.
The 4-4 split leaves intact an appeals court ruling that said Obama overstepped his authority, along with a trial judge’s order preventing the program from taking effect.
The deadlock may stoke what already is a fiery debate in the presidential campaign over the 11 million people who are in the country illegally. It underscores the significance of the partisan battle to fill the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s Feb. 13 death.
As is the court’s normal practice, the justices didn’t say which of them were on which side of the case. Arguments in April suggested the possibility of an ideological divide.
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