Illegal immigrant lovers scored a huge victory this week. A federal judge batted down the Trump administration’s attempt to end the DACA program, ruling that it was unreasonable for the program to end without the government doing more to prove its illegal.
“Today’s order doesn’t change the Department of Justice’s position on the facts: DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend benefits to this same group of illegal aliens. As such, it was an unlawful circumvention of Congress,” Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley said.
“The Department of Homeland Security, therefore, acted within its lawful authority in deciding to wind down DACA in an orderly manner. … The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend this position, and looks forward to vindicating its position in further litigation.”
The government has 90 days to whip a new defense, or legally, they’ll have to start processing fresh DACA applications. Judge John Bates determined that the decision to discontinue the Obama-era program’s protections was “arbitrary and capricious.”
He’s the third judge in a row to decide in favor of DACA. The so-called Dreamers are the most well-liked illegal immigrants in the country.
“DACA’s rescission was arbitrary and capricious because the Department failed adequately to explain its conclusion that the program was unlawful,” Bates wrote.
“Neither the meager legal reasoning nor the assessment of litigation risk provided by DHS to support its rescission decision is sufficient to sustain termination of the DACA program.”
Bates also rejected the government’s argument that it needed to end DACA before a lawsuit filed in Texas came to a conclusion.
“The agency’s prediction regarding the outcome of threatened litigation over DACA’s viability — specifically, that the district court in the Texas litigation would immediately halt the program without any opportunity for a wind-down — was so implausible that it fails even under the deferential arbitrary and capricious standard,” Bates wrote.
“DACA’s rescission will, therefore, be set aside.”
Barack Obama is probably overjoyed by the judge’s ruling. President Trump is dismantling all of his “achievements” but this one.
(Source: Politico)