It is now more likely that the Supreme Court will have the final say as to whether one of the most sweeping immigration plans to date will ever see the light of day.

The high court on Tuesday granted the 26 states challenging President Obama’s executive actions on immigration just eight extra days to respond to the administration’s appeal. The extension is a far cry from the full 30 days that the states initially requested, which was seen as a delay tactic designed to punt the issue into 2017 and run out the clock on Obama’s final term in office.

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The states challenging the executive actions now have until Dec. 29 to file briefs opposing Supreme Court review. And though the timeline is tight, it gives a narrow opening for the court to decide by mid-January whether to take up the case. If the justices determine that the case warrants review, oral arguments would then follow in April, with an ultimate decision coming by late June.

Close video Christie on immigration and the border Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie shares his thoughts on the future of immigration in the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie shares his thoughts on the future of immigration in the U.S. share tweet email Embed

The latest executive measures have been on hold since February, blocked by two notoriously conservative lower courts – the U.S. District Court in Brownsville, Texas, and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The White House has seen the Supreme Court as it’s greatest shot at lifting the temporary freeze on the programs before the end of Obama’s second term.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, its decision would land squarely before the national conventions naming each party’s presidential nominee. It will be up to Obama’s successor to decide whether his legacy on immigration will carry on past 2016. So far; all Republican candidates have vowed to chip away at that legacy; Democratic nominees have said they will take executive actions a step further.

“The decision today appears to recognize the urgency of the situation, both for immigrants and for the country. Like the nativists in Congress blocking reform, the plaintiffs in this case seek to block progress by silencing immigrants and depriving them of political equality, but they will be on the losing side of history,” Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), said in a statement. “The status quo is cruel, unjust, and discriminatory. We must continue to seek relief by every means available. No one at this point should be relying exclusively on Washington for relief.”