Breaking News
Supreme Court Shoots Down Bid to Nix ‘Dreamers’
The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump Administration’s bid to cancel an Obama-era policy that protects “Dreamers” or illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
Back in 2017, President Trump rolled back legal protections afforded to illegal immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. After years of legal opposition, the issue finally landed in front of the Supreme Court on Thursday. The court ruled against the Trump Administration’s decision to end the program in a closely-contested 5-to-4 vote. Chief Justice John Roberts said the administration’s bid to cancel DACA was arbitrary and didn’t have adequate justification.
Interestingly, the court openly admitted that the Department of Homeland Security has the legal authority to rescind DACA. However, they still ruled against the effort because of procedural issues. “The dispute before the Court is not whether [the Department of Homeland Security] may rescind DACA. All parties agree that it may. The dispute is instead primarily about the procedure the agency followed in doing so,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote. Roberts also said the government failed to provide a sufficient explanation of its action under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Protection of Dreamers to Stay
President Donald Trump has responded after the Supreme Court rejected his bid to end #DACA protections for young immigrants. #SCOTUS
"Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?" @realDonaldTrump asked on Twitter. https://t.co/GiaDXoSlyw pic.twitter.com/0n19d0Vdns
— 10 Tampa Bay (@10TampaBay) June 18, 2020
The ruling restored DACA protection for more than 600,000 “Dreamers,” the recipients of the program. These Dreamers have been in no man’s land since Trump’s 2017 push to roll back the law. The program shields illegal immigrants from deportation and allows them to legally work in the U.S. The program has been in President Trump’s crosshairs since he began campaigning in 2015. The president has previously described DACA and similar programs as “illegal executive amnesty.”
Four conservative judges voted in favor of canceling the program, including Trump-nominated Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. The dissenting judges argued the illegality of DACA, saying Obama administration didn’t go through the proper procedures to establish the policy. Justice Clarence Thomas – who also ruled in favor of Trump’s decision to cancel the program – wrote a dissenting opinion criticizing the court’s ruling. “Today’s decision must be recognized for what it is,” said Justice Thomas, “an effort to avoid a politically controversial but legally correct decision.”
In spite of the setback, the DACA issue remains unresolved by a longshot. The court ruled against canceling the program for Dreamers because of procedural shortfalls. However, it offered no opinion regarding the policy’s legality, leaving the door open for future legal challenges. Trump Administration officials haven’t commented on whether they would make another attempt to cancel the program, but they will have to provide new justifications for canceling the program if they want to try again.
President Trump Reacts
Shortly after the ruling, President Trump took to Twitter to comment on it. “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?” he tweeted. Later, in a separate tweet, he wrote, “These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives.”
The Trump Administration has had a tough run in the Supreme Court as of late. Team Trump had a minor victory in April. That month, the court ruled in favor of an effort that made it easier for federal authorities to deport immigrants who committed crimes. However, he’s lost most of his Supreme Court showdowns since then. The DACA decision was the second courtroom defeat for the administration this week. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled to protect LGBT individuals from employment discrimination based on their sexual orientation. This happened after Justice Gorsuch – a Trump pick – sided with the court’s liberals in another 5-4 decision.
After Thursday’s defeat, Trump said he will unveil a new list of possible Supreme Court nominees ahead of the election. He used the same tactic during his 2016 campaign. With this, many experts believe the approach helped him shore up conservative support. On Twitter, Trump wrote, “Based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before.”
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