Advocates for undocumented immigrants say a Supreme Court decision hurts millions of families in the U.S.
In a tie vote, the Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that blocked the president's executive order on immigration.
President Obama wanted to stop deportations of undocumented parents with legal resident children.
Attorney Ruby Robinson is with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. Robinson says undocumented residents of the U.S. live with tremendous day-to-day insecurity and fear.
"Every day when that (undocumented) parent goes to work or the child goes to school, there is no guarantee that the parent will be in the house when that child returns," says Robinson.
And he says everyone, not just immigrants, stood to gain from the executive order.
"We don't want children to grow up in the United States without parents, we don't want them to be reliant on social services safety nets if a parent is deported. We want families to be together," he says.
Robinson says there are about 60,ooo undocumented parents in Michigan who would have benefited from the president's order.
He hopes the case comes before the Supreme Court again next year, after a ninth justice will be appointed.