WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama's plan to delay deportation for nearly half of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants was fraught with uncertainty Monday, as US Supreme Court justices signaled deep divisions.
If the eight justices deadlock in their ruling, due by late June, the plan would remain on hold, dealing a bruising defeat to Obama during his last year in office and pushing the issue to the next president.
Hundreds of activists massed outside in blazing sunshine, brandishing heart-shaped signs reading "Keep families together" and chanting "Si se puede" -- putting a Spanish twist on Obama's 2008 campaign slogan "Yes We Can."
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy, two conservatives whose opinions are critical in this case, sparred repeatedly with the Obama administration's attorney during an extended 90-minute session of oral arguments.
At stake is a series of executive actions the president took in November 2014 to bypass a Republican-held Congress that refused to enact his promised reform of America's immigration system.
One initiative, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), would shield from deportation people living in the United States since 2010 whose children are US citizens or residents. They would also be able to obtain a work authorization and pay taxes.
Another measure would expand on an existing program that grants a reprieve to immigrants who entered the country as children.
Obama, who has deported more people than any other US president, said he wanted to prioritize deportations of "felons, not families."
The four liberal-leaning justices pointed to similar executive actions by his predecessors.
Critics accuse Obama of overstepping his authority, a view echoed on the conservative wing of the bench.
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