Lawless Trump administration makes its Supreme Court defiance official

Gabe Ortiz

Daily Kos Staff

Tuesday July 28, 2020 · 12:13 PM PDT

2020/07/28 · 12:13

People hold signs during a rally in support of the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, in San Diego, California June 18, 2020. - Supreme Court dealt President Donald Trump's anti-immigration efforts a fresh blow Thursday when it rejected his cancellation of a program protecting 700,000 "Dreamers," undocumented migrants brought to the United States as children. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP) (Photo by SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images) — People hold signs during a rally in support of the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, in San Diego, California June 18, 2020.

TAGS

Edit Tags

Tag History

Done Editing Tags

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Tuesday that the Trump administration will “reject all” first-time Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications and slash protections for current and former beneficiaries from two years, to just one year. DHS, a statement claimed, “will take action to thoughtfully consider the future of the DACA policy, including whether to fully rescind the program.”

What the administration has done is make official that its defying the Supreme Court and a lower court decision to fully reopen the program, after claiming it was reviewing decisions when there’s nothing to review because it’s court orders. This is contempt. “Extremely import thing to note about this” memo, tweeted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy counsel at American Immigration Council. “It is signed by Chad Wolf, who is likely not the valid lawful Acting Secretary, making this almost certainly unlawful.”

“The announcement appears to be directly contrary to an order by a federal judge, who ruled last month that the administration must immediately begin accepting new applications for the DACA program,” The New York Times reported. “Officials said they expected court challenges from immigration advocates, given the Supreme Court’s decision and the judge’s order.”

Fucking damn right they should. “Trump & DHS are now in open defiance of the Supreme Court and several federal courts,” tweeted immigration attorney Lily Axelrod. “Despite being ordered to restore the entire #DACA program (including new applications) they now openly announce that they will not do so”:

3/ This is blatantly unlawful, from the same @DHSgov whose goons are in the streets beating and arresting peaceful protesters in the name of "law and order."
— Lily S. Axelrod (@LilySAxelrod) July 28, 2020

5/ Don't give up. FILE your initial #DACA ASAP. He's clearly going to rescind or partially rescind the program soon. If you file before that happens, you will be in a good position to sue or benefit from federal litigation if your app is unlawfully rejected / denied.
— Lily S. Axelrod (@LilySAxelrod) July 28, 2020

7/ And of course, call your senators / reps. They represent YOU even if you aren't a citizen. Tell them to pass the #DREAMAct now so that you don't have to depend on the whims of an administration that has no respect for your life and the rule of law.
— Lily S. Axelrod (@LilySAxelrod) July 28, 2020

“A federal court already ordered a high-level DHS official to come back to court this Friday to explain what on earth is going on and why the admin isn't openly accepting new #DACA apps,” Axelrod continued. “Expect to see him/her raked over the coals, and possible contempt of court proceedings.”

"The courts have spoken: DACA is in full effect, including for new applications,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement received by Daily Kos. “We are ready if the Trump admin tries to block or dismantle DACA. We know what it takes to defend DACA—we've done it before and we'll do it again if necessary."

Lawless Trump administration makes its Supreme Court defiance official

Comments are closed on this story.