Newswise — Dr. Joe Ura, associate professor of political science and Liberal Arts Faculty Administrative Fellow at Texas A&M University, is an expert in American national politics, especially the Supreme Court and Congress. His research focus is on how public opinion and elections will be influenced by Supreme Court decisions.

In Fisher v. UT (affirmative action), Ura says, "As a matter of law, the decision is quite narrow; it does not expand the scope of permissible affirmative action programs or mandate that universities use affirmative action in their admissions. It may have larger political implications, though. In the short-run, it is likely to provide energy for political movements and candidates opposed to affirmative action and other policies meant to remediate racial discrimination. Over the long run, though, this backlash is likely to decline and be replaced by growing political support for policies aimed at erroding the negative consequences of historical patterns of discrimination in the United States."

In US v. Texas (immigration), Ura says, "The tie vote means that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals's earlier decision preventing implementation of the president's executive actions delaying deportation proceedings for millions of undocumented immigrants will remain in force. In the near term, this result will likely energize supporters of immigration reform and help candidates running on platforms that expand immigrants' rights."

To interview Dr. Ura, please contact Kim White at [email protected].