[author: Laura Anne Schierhoff]

Last month, the Supreme Court issued a one-sentence opinion after a 4-4 split on United States v. Texas.  This decision was devastating for millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States because it left in place a lower court’s ruling that blocked the safeguards granted by the Obama Administration via the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) petitioned the Supreme Court to rehear the case. The DOJ specifically asked that the case be reconsidered “before a full nine-Member Court.” The agency argues that allowing the lower court’s injunction to stand is a troublesome precedent in a matter of “great national importance.” The Supreme Court rarely grants petitions for  rehearing, which the solicitor general, Ian Gershengorn acknowledged in the petition. However, there have been  past rehearings granted by the court where a 4-4 division occurred because of a vacancy on the bench, as is the case now. If a rehearing is granted, the justices could hear the case re-argued as early as October, when the new term begins. However that depends on whether President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland is confirmed by then, which does not look likely.