Civic Register
| 11.11.19
Do You Want the Supreme Court to End DACA?
Do you hope SCOTUS ends the DACA program?
What’s the story?
- The Supreme Court on Tuesday will begin hearing oral arguments on the Trump administration’s shuttering of DACA, the Obama-era program that protected young undocumented immigrants – also known as “Dreamers” – from being deported.
- The justices have consolidated three separate cases involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program: Trump v. NAACP, McAleenan v. Vidal, and Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California.
- Several lower courts had placed President Donald Trump’s phase-out of the program on hold. Now, SCOTUS is, basically, considering the rationale the administration provided for why it was ending the program, and whether the decision was “unlawfully arbitrary”—which would violate the federal Administrative Procedures Act.
Huh?
Yeah, we know, it’s weedy. Basically:
- The executive branch needs to adequately explain when it makes a policy change, even if the change falls within its lawful discretion.
- Lower courts found the Trump administration’s explanation of why it was ending DACA to be inadequate as it didn’t outline why it believed DACA was bad policy.
What’s the backstory?
- In 2012, President Barack Obama signed DACA into law through an executive order. The policy was meant to protect unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S as minors – so-called "Dreamers" - from deportation. 800,000 unauthorized immigrants are currently benefiting from the program.
- On September 5, 2017, President Trump terminated the program with a six-month delay, giving Congress until March 5, 2018, to come up with a solution for the 800,000 unauthorized immigrants.
- In February 2018, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case that, at the time, was making its way through the federal appeals court, which meant that DACA has been able to continue for the time being.
Why did Trump end the program?
- In announcing the administration’s plans to end DACA, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the program "was inconsistent with the Constitution’s separation of powers" because Obama created it without Congressional approval.
Who uses DACA?
According to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, these are the top ten countries of origin for DACA recipients and how many DACA participants hail from each:
- Mexico - 655,498
- El Salvador - 31,963
- Guatemala - 22,821
- Honduras - 21,053
- South Korea - 9,250
- Peru - 9,472
- Brazil - 8,128
- Ecuador - 7,379
- Columbia - 7,055
- Argentina - 4,983
What do you think?
How do you want SCOTUS ruling on DACA? Do you support the program? Do you hope the Trump administration is allowed to end it? Take action above and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.
—Josh Herman
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