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Monday 11 noveMber 2019
University of California Court tie in 2016 affirmed
president who served as the lower court rulings.
Obama's homeland secu- Texas and other Republi-
rity secretary when DACA can-led states eventually
was created, said the ad- did sue and won a partial
ministration seems to rec- victory in a federal court in
ognize that ending DACA Texas.
protections would be un- The administration's best
popular. argument is a simple one,
"And so perhaps they think said Josh Blackman, a pro-
it better that they be or- fessor at South Texas Col-
dered by the court to do it lege of Law in Houston:
as opposed to doing it cor- "The Supreme Court should
rectly on their own," Napoli- allow the Trump Adminis-
tano said in an interview tration to wind down a pol-
with The Associated Press. icy it found to be unlawful,
She is a named plaintiff in even if reasonable judges
the litigation. disagree about DACA's le-
Solicitor General Noel Fran- gality."
cisco, who is arguing the Trump has said he favors
administration's case at the legislation on DACA, but
Supreme Court, pushed that it will take a Supreme
back against that criticism. Court ruling for the admin-
"We think the way we did it istration to spur Congress to
is entirely appropriate and act.
lawful. If we did it in a dif- On at least one point,
ferent way, it would be Trump and his DACA critics
subject to challenge," Fran- agree.
cisco said at a Smithsonian "Only legislation can bring
Institution event exploring a permanent sense of sta-
the current Supreme Court bility for all of these peo-
Michelle Lainez, 17, originally from El Salvador but now living in Gaithersburg, Md., speaks during term. ple," said Microsoft presi-
a rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. The Trump administration dent Brad Smith. Microsoft
Associated Press has said it moved to cut joined the challenge to the
off the program under the administration because,
Continued from Front part of his campaign and discretion over immigra- threat of a lawsuit from Tex- Smith said, 66 employees
The court sided with Presi- less than eight months af- tion, certainly enough to as and other states, raising are protected by DACA.
dent Donald Trump in al- ter taking office, he an- justify Trump's ban. In the the prospect of a chaotic The Department of Home-
lowing him to enforce the nounced in September Supreme Court decision, end. land Security is continu-
travel ban on visitors from 2017 that he would end Roberts wrote that immi- Then-Attorney General Jeff ing to process two-year
some majority Muslim coun- DACA. gration law gives the presi- Sessions determined DACA DACA renewals so that
tries, but it blocked the ad- Immigrants, civil rights dent "broad discretion to to be unlawful because in June 2020, hundreds of
ministration from adding a groups, universities and suspend the entry of aliens Obama did not have the thousands of DACA re-
citizenship question to the Democratic-led states into the United States. The authority to adopt it in the cipients will have protec-
2020 census. quickly sued, and courts President lawfully exercised first place. Sessions cited an tions stretching beyond
Roberts was the only mem- put the administration's that discretion." expansion of the DACA pro- the election and even into
ber of the court in the ma- plan on hold. The Supreme Court fight gram and a similar effort to 2022.
jority both times, siding with There are two questions over DACA has played out protect undocumented im- If the high court rules for the
four conservatives on the before the Supreme Court: in a kind of legal slow mo- migrants who are parents administration, it is unclear
travel ban and four liberals whether federal judges tion. The administration first of American children that how quickly the program
in the census case. His vote can even review the de- wanted the justices to hear were struck down by fed- would end or Congress
could be decisive a third cision to end the program and decide the case by eral courts. A 4-4 Supreme might act.q
time, as well. and, if they can, whether June 2018. The justices said
The program before the the way the administration no. The justice Department
court is Deferred Action has gone about winding returned to the court a year
for Childhood Arrivals, an down DACA is legal. ago, but the justices did
Obama-era program that In that sense, the case re- nothing for more than sev-
aimed to bring out of the sembles the dispute over en months before agreeing
shadows people who have the census citizenship ques- to hear arguments.
been in the United States tion, which focused on the The delay has bought
since they were children process the administra- DACA recipients at least
and are in the country ille- tion used in trying to add two extra years because a
gally. In some cases, they the question to the 2020 decision now isn't expect-
have no memory of any census. In the end, Rob- ed until June 2020, which
home other than the U.S. erts wrote that the reason also could thrust the issue
With Congress at an im- the administration gave into the presidential cam-
passe over a comprehen- for wanting the question paign.
sive immigration bill, Presi- "seems to have been con- In part the court's slow
dent Barack Obama de- trived." pace can be explained
cided to formally protect There also are similarities by a preference to have
people from deportation to the travel ban case, in Congress legislate a lasting
while also allowing them to which the administration resolution of the issue. But
work legally in the U.S. argued that courts had no Trump and Congress failed
But Trump made tough talk role to play and that the to strike a deal on DACA.
on immigration a central executive branch has vast Janet Napolitano, the