President Donald Trump's efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was dealt a blow on Friday when a federal judge ordered the administration to fully restore the program designed to prevent the deportation of children of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents.
A Washington, D.C.-based federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must fully restore DACA, sayin… https://t.co/xoJiivcr8s— NPR (@NPR) 1533535260.0
In April, U.S. District Judge John Bates gave the Department of Homeland Security 90 days "to better explain its view that DACA is unlawful." Bates said Friday the government's reasoning for ending DACA was "inadequately explained," adding that the Trump administration "cannot rely on the reasons it previously gave for DACA’s rescission, because the Court has already rejected them."
Bates concluded in his ruling:
For the foregoing reasons, the Court again concludes that DHS’s September 2017 decision
to rescind the DACA program, as now explained in the Duke and Nielsen Memos, was both subject
to judicial review and arbitrary and capricious.
Bates continued:
The Court has already once given DHS the opportunity to remedy these deficiencies—either by providing a coherent explanation of its legal opinion or by reissuing its decision for bona fide policy reasons that would preclude judicial review—so it will not do so again.
"A conclusory assertion that a prior policy is illegal, accompanied by a hodgepodge of illogical or post hoc policy assertions, simply will not do," Bates wrote. "The Court, therefore, reaffirms its conclusion that DACA’s rescission was unlawful and must be set aside."
Bates' ruling is the third derailing the Trump administration's crusade against DACA since the president decided to end the program in September 2017. DHS has 20 days to appeal the ruling before DACA must be fully restored, Bates ruled.
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a statement trashing the court's decision.
"We strongly disagree with the district court’s decision on Friday in the DACA case," Sessions said.
The executive branch's authority to simply rescind a policy, established only by a letter from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is clearly established. The Department of Justice will take every lawful measure to vindicate the Department of Homeland Security's lawful recission of DACA.
NEW: Attorney General Sessions: "We strongly disagree with the district court’s decision on Friday," in which a fed… https://t.co/nY9pvDPzyI— ABC News (@ABC News) 1533579749.0
"We have recently witnessed a number of decisions in which courts have improperly used judicial power to steer, enjoin, modify, and direct executive policy," Sessions added.
Supporters of DACA responded to Sessions on Twitter, offering their "thoughts and prayers" to the administration.
"Womp womp." Pretty much.
@ABC https://t.co/m0hqPWwFHl— Doctor Bong 2020 #Demcast #Avengers #TW (@Doctor Bong 2020 #Demcast #Avengers #TW) 1533579912.0
"Thoughts and prayers."
@ABC Thoughts and prayers— nascup af eastofhawaii (@nascup af eastofhawaii) 1533579816.0
@ABC https://t.co/2xOVkpYuA5— Fela (@Fela) 1533580148.0
The racist undertones of the Trump administration's attitude toward the children of undocumented immigrants did not go unnoticed.
@ABC it's just so hard when the judicial system gets in the way of your racist heart's desire— Kathy Byrne (@Kathy Byrne) 1533580763.0
@ABC Sessions..... are you tired of winning yet ?— joe becerra (@joe becerra) 1533581079.0
@ABC Protect the boarders on DACA recpts. that have been here for years and years?!— Gail (@Gail) 1533580163.0
@ABC Hey Sessions! The law is the law-stop trying to change it-Sessions is the Attorney General of the United State… https://t.co/ZY9mv3sFln— DIANA PARKS (@DIANA PARKS) 1533582215.0
@ABC Racist mean soulless evil creeps. That is Trump and Sessions.— Jen says impeach now (@Jen says impeach now) 1533580597.0
@ABC Of course you do. You would have Whites Only signs all over America if you could.— Tami Shawn (@Tami Shawn) 1533579980.0
@ABC It's so gratifying when Trump administration loses.— Survivingnsweatpants (@Survivingnsweatpants) 1533580314.0
The people have spoken.