US Supreme Court to hear pleas on Obama's immigration actions

The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration, as his legal team makes ready to allow them to go forward.

In oral arguments, the Obama administration on Monday will ask the justices to lift a lower court injunction that blocked the implementation of the programmes, which would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to live and work in the US without fear of deportation, political daily The Hill reported.

A group of 26 states, led by Texas, will argue the injunction should be kept in place because Obama overstepped his authority and the programmes would pose high costs on their governments.

The court is expected to hand down a ruling in June. But Obama and his allies are facing the possibility of a deadlock that would hand a victory to Texas and the states.

If the short-handed court splits 4-4, the lower court's ruling would be left in place, which would virtually guarantee the programmes will not go into place before Obama leaves office.

Supporters of the programme argue the eight-member Supreme Court might not have the final say on the programmes.

If the justices cannot reach a majority decision, they say states, cities and activist groups could launch a new round of legal challenges in other courts to try to fight the injunction, imposed by US District Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas and upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, known as the most conservative appeals court in the country.