The growing likelihood that Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be appointed to the Supreme Court ahead of the November election has Democrats on edge, uncertain about future Supreme Court decisions on issues like abortion access, election security and immigration.
During a Tuesday interview on Boston Public Radio, National Immigration Forum CEO Ali Noorani affirmed concerns around immigration, saying it’s "pretty clear” that Coney Barrett will fall in line with many of the attitudes established by the Trump administration in its first term.
Watch: What Would Amy Coney Barrett’s SCOTUS Confirmation Mean For The Country?
And though he admitted that it’s still unclear where Coney Barrett stands on the contested Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, he said her decision as a judge on the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to side with the president on the “public charge” rule, indicates that she’s willing to take hard-right stances.
That ruling, he explained, allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to "in essence, bar somebody from coming to the U.S. or adjust status … based on their prediction that an individual may use public benefits in the future.”
Noorani noted at least one instance, during Meza Morales v. Barr, where Coney Barrett ruled favorably towards immigrants. In that case, he explained, Coney Barrett ruled that cases shouldn't be rushed, and that applicants "should be able to find a sound judgment, or a fair judgment, or a fair disposition.”
“But on balance,” he concluded, "we do have concerns about her approach to immigration policy. I do think that if she is confirmed, that she will continue to side with the Trump administration as these cases get to the court.”
Ali Nooran is the president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. His latest book is "There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration."
