Campaign Action
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has upheld his ruling that the Trump administration failed to properly justify its termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) last fall, and ordered U.S. officials to fully restore the program. George W. Bush appointee John Bates, CNN reports, “agreed to delay his ruling for 20 days to give the administration time to respond and appeal, if it chooses.”
“Once again,” DACA recipient and immigrant rights leader Juan Escalante said, “the courts reaffirm what immigrants and their allies have always known: the DACA program is good for our country and the administration can’t just end it for no clear reason or legal justification.”
In announcing DACA’s rescission last September, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III claimed the program “was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch,” despite no court or judge ever saying that. The real reason, of course, was to aid Donald Trump’s mass deportation vision and to kick out young people who have no other country but the U.S. as their home.
DACA was partially resurrected by the courts in the months that followed, allowing current and former beneficiaries to renew their protections, but shutting out new applicants entirely. But that victory is being challenged in another courtroom in Texas, where the state’s Republican attorney general, the indicted Ken Paxton, and six other states have sued to end DACA—and they may be successful in their despicable efforts.
“In that case,” CNN continues, “Texas and other states are suing to have DACA ended entirely, and the judge is expected to side with them based on his prior rulings.” Judge Andrew Hanen anti-immigrant animus is well established, after blocking former President Barack Obama’s 2014 immigration action and killing protections for up to five million undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
Facing the very real possibility of conflicting court rulings within the next few weeks or even days, immigrant rights activists are calling on DACA recipients who have protections set to expire by 2020 to renew their protections as soon as possible. “For DACA beneficiaries like me and my sisters,” said United We Dream leader Greisa Martinez, “the message is this: there are no changes to DACA, but if you are able to renew, now is the time to do it.” The group has set up a new tool to help immigrant youth with applications and financial resources.
Just as importantly, Martinez stresses that the Trump administration decision to rescind DACA was not based on rule of law, but political reasons, period. “We have always known that DACA is right and Trump’s decision to end it was wrong,” she continued. “Judge Bates reaffirmed those facts.”