A federal judge in Texas on Friday ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), which granted pseudo amnesty for illegal immigrants under the age of 30 who were brought to the United States as minors, is illegal, reports the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that the DACA program was illegal because Congress never authorized it. Barack Obama created the program via executive action in 2012 after Congress failed to pass the DREAM Act.
“From this date forward, the United States of America, its departments, agencies, officers, agents, and employees are hereby enjoined from administering the DACA program,” Hanen wrote.
There is no doubt that Barack Obama exceeded his authority in creating DACA. Prior to creating the program he repeatedly acknowledged that he was constitutionally unable to unilaterally change immigration law. “I am president, I am not king. I can’t do these things just by myself. We have a system of government that requires the Congress to work with the Executive Branch to make it happen,” he said during a 2010 interview with Univision. “I’m committed to making it happen, but I’ve got to have some partners to do it. … The main thing we have to do to stop deportations is to change the laws.”
He did not heed his own words.
In September 2017, President Trump ended DACA—when there were roughly 700,000 DACA recipients in the United States—and called on Congress to come up with a solution legislatively. Democrats didn’t attempt to work with Republicans on compromise legislation, and in June of last year, the Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s efforts to end the program, citing procedural issues, effectively reinstating the program.
Current DACA recipients won’t have their temporary amnesty pulled, and won’t be deported as a result, but according to the Wall Street Journal, Judge Hanen’s ruling puts DACA in jeopardy.
This is story is developing…
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