DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents)
November 20, 2014
DAPA would have extended temporary protection to approximately 4 million undocumented immigrants who were parents of US citizens or legal residents. The Fifth Circuit found it likely exceeded prosecutorial discretion, and the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 in 2016. Unlike DACA, DAPA was never implemented. The scale (4M vs 800K) made separation-of-powers concerns more acute.
CFI Score
44Mixed
Constitutional Floor
Violation3+ lenses found severe tension
Lens Agreement
Significant DisagreementLenses strongly diverge
Steelman Defense
+15.9Stronger defense than consensus
Key Constitutional Issues
Floor Violations
Separation
3 of 5 lenses scored −2 (strong tension)
Caution Areas
Equal
3 of 5 lenses found moderate tension
Democratic
3 of 5 lenses found moderate tension
Sovereignty
3 of 5 lenses found moderate tension
Most Contested
Equal
High disagreement across lenses (variance 1.60)
Dimensional Extremes
Strongest: Welfare
Mean score +1.4 — 5 of 5 lenses scored positively
Weakest: Democratic
Mean score -1.4 — 2 lenses found strong tension
Dimensional Profile
Dimension Scores by Lens
Scoring Matrix
| Dimension | Textualist | Originalist | Doctrinalist | Living | Pragmatist | Steelman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rights | -1 | -1 | 0 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Equal | -1 | -1 | -1 | +2 | +1 | +1 |
| Democratic | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Separation | -2 | -2 | -2 | 0 | -1 | -1 |
| Due Process | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Welfare | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 |
| Sovereignty | -1 | -1 | -1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
Lens Narratives
Click to expand each constitutional lens's reasoning.
Steelman Analysis
While prosecutorial discretion can encompass categorical policies, DAPA's scope without Congressional engagement created democratic legitimacy concerns. Phased implementation with Congressional notice might have been safer.