What was the ultimate fate of President Obama's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) plan?

The Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) plan, introduced by President Obama in 2014, aimed to defer deportation for certain undocumented immigrants who were parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Ultimately, the fate of this program was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016.

The Court did not reach a definitive ruling on DAPA due to a 4-4 deadlock that resulted from Justice Antonin Scalia's death earlier that year. This tie effectively left the lower court's decision in place, which had blocked the implementation of DAPA. As a result, the plan was never enacted, and no new policy was established to protect this demographic from deportation under DAPA.

Other options present alternate outcomes that did not occur. The plan did not become law in 2016, nor was it directly ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. While some states did refuse to implement DAPA, that was not its ultimate fate; rather, it was the deadlock decision that led to its non-implementation and halted the policy altogether. Thus, the deadlock effectively determined the plan's failure to come into effect.