WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump was defeated by the Supreme Court today, 5-4, in his on-going effort to dismantle DACA protections for so-called “Dreamers” – children of illegal aliens who want to work in America.
Chief Justice John Roberts and four other liberal-minded justices handed down the deciding 5 votes in the case, in which Trump sought to oust upwards of 700,000 “Dreamers” and force their deportation. This was a campaign promise that he immediately set upon when he took office in 2017. The Supreme Court in its decision says Trump’s move via the Department of Homeland Security to rescind DACA was arbitrary and capricious.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote as part of the majority, “We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies. The wisdom of those decisions is none of our concern. We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action.”
Court documents show that in 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memorandum announcing an immigration relief program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows certain unauthorized aliens who arrived in the United States as children to apply for a two-year forbearance of removal. Those granted such relief become eligible for work authorization and various federal benefits. Some 700,000 aliens have availed themselves of this opportunity.
Former President Barack Obama tweeted Thursday, “Today, I’m happy for them, their families, and all of us.”
The court’s decision allows DACA to continue at least until Trump provides a better reason to courts as to why DACA should be rescinded.
Previously, Trump had attacked DACA persons, tweeting “Many of the people in DACA, no longer very young, are far from angels. Some are very tough, hardened criminals.”
President Trump tweeted Thursday following his second defeat of the week at the hands of the court, “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”
LGBTQ people were delivered a victory Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a 1960s-era federal law against employment discrimination applies to them and they cannot be fired because of their sexual orientation, enraging Trump.