Then-Gov. Bill Haslam, Rep. Mark White, and Sen. Todd Gardenhire pose for a photo in March 2018 with supporters of offering instate tuition for students whose parents brought them to country illegally as children. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)

Republican U.S. Senate candidates Bill Hagerty and Manny Sethi are denouncing a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that President Donald Trump can’t immediately dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program from children brought to the country without legal authorization.

The opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, a Republican appointee. He was joined by the high court’s four more liberal members.

Here’s the statement from Hagerty:

The Supreme Court’s decision to prevent the Trump Administration from dismantling DACA, an immigration policy created via Executive Order by the Obama Administration is appalling and another reminder as to why we need to confirm more constitutionalist judges to the federal bench. We need justices and judges who will not legislate from the bench, but respect the Constitution. Joe Biden and a Democrat Senate majority would confirm nominees who will get it wrong every time. In the Senate, I will support constitutionalist judges and work with President Trump to fix our broken immigration system and build the wall at our southern border.

And here is Sethi:

This is a travesty: My parents waited seven years to immigrate to America legally, and they gave back to the community here in Tennessee. It’s incredibly offensive to me as a first generation American to see other people break the law get benefits, and their children be rewarded for it. Congress needs to fix the system by building the wall, ending chain biased migration, and pausing all legal immigration until we get our economy back on track.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Marville), the man Hagerty is hoping to replace, struck a different tone about the decision:

The Supreme Court’s decision will provide temporary relief to current DACA recipients, but it is clear to me that Congress must act to fix our broken immigration system. Congress should work together to achieve a permanent result both for DACA recipients and border security, and any other improvements to legal immigration that we can agree on—this means something the Senate and the House can pass and that the president will support.

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