Third Federal Court Judge Rules Against Ending DACA

On Tuesday Federal Judge John D. Bates of the District of Columbia overruled the Trump’s administration’s efforts to unwind the immigration program known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

The sixty page ruling, similar to other rulings, states that the Department of Homeland Security’s wind-down of DACA was “arbitrary and capricious,” because Homeland failed to prove its conclusion that the program was unlawful.

Judge Bates writes,

Department’s decision to rescind DACA was predicated primarily on its legal judgment that the program was unlawful. That legal judgment was virtually unexplained, however, and so it cannot support the agency’s decision.

He explains that due in part to their failure to adequately explain its conclusion that the program was unlawful that the:

Court will vacate the Department’s September 5, 2017 decision to rescind the DACA program.

By vacating the decision to rescind it means the program can continue, unlike past rulings, that allowed Homeland to stop accepting new applicants, Judge Bates’s ruling re-starts the program as it was before the September 5, 2017 decision to rescind, however, Judge Bates added:

The Court will stay its order of vacatur for 90 days, however, to afford DHS an opportunity to better explain its view that DACA is unlawful.

Judge Bates joined the court in 2001 nominated by George W. Bush.

The other rulings Judge William Alsup and Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis

In February 2018 the Trump Administration tried to bypass the 9th circuit court of appeals and applied directly to the Supreme Court. The Supreme court declined to hear the case, issuing a brief order:

“It is assumed the court of appeals will act expeditiously to decide this case.”