Black Star News (Op-Ed)
April 25, 2018
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington, DC ruled that the Trump Administration unlawfully ended DACA and unless they come up with a better rationale in 90 days, the Administration must not only continue DACA for current beneficiaries, but it must accept new applications as well.
The ruling – just the latest in a string of court defeats for the Trump administration on DACA – arrived on the eve of the U.S. Supreme Court’s oral arguments in the Muslim ban case. In both instances, the Trump Administration continues to use its power to attack, rather than protect, those Trump and Sessions consider “the other.”
“In a strong democracy, the rule of law protects the freedoms of all and the rights of minorities,” says Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice. “Under Trump and Sessions, authority is used to protect the ‘in-group’ of Trump’s white supporters and target the ‘out-group’ of ethnic and religious minorities in a vicious war of Us vs. Them. Most Americans believe in the American idea of an inclusive nation where liberty and justice are extended to all. Let us hope the courts, including the Supreme Court, continue to do the same.”
“Since Donald Trump took the oath of office, he’s used his Presidency to advance an extremist anti-immigrant agenda aimed at ridding the country of people of color, Muslims and others that don’t fit into his ugly vision of America,” says David Leopold, Partner and Chair, Immigration Practice Group, Ulmer & Berne LLP.
Leopold, also the former president, American Immigration Lawyers Association, said: “Whether it’s banning Muslims or canceling DACA, Trump has attempted to use his executive power to build barriers and tear apart families; not offer solutions to fix the nation’s dysfunctional immigration system. The good news is that the judiciary has nearly unanimously pushed back hard against Trump’s attempts to trash the Constitution. Yesterday, Judge John D. Bates joined the chorus of federal judges who have stood up to Trump’s illegal cancellation of DACA by enjoining the Administration’s rescission of the program. He courageously went further than the courts before him, ruling that the USCIS should not only continue to process DACA renewals, but should accept new applications from qualified Dreamers. Judge Bates’ decision is significant, because it shows, yet again, that federal judges all across country are jealously guarding the rule of law in the face of Trump’s anti-immigrant extremism. Let’s hope that today, as the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court consider the Muslim Ban case, they follow the lead of the lower courts which have taught Donald Trump that America is a ‘nation of laws, not men.’”
DACA recipient Juan Escalante, communications manager of America’s Voice, added: “Not only were the lives of 800,000 aspiring Americans put on hold when Donald Trump cruelly ended the DACA program, but the futures of countless young Dreamers, who were looking forward to ‘aging in’ to DACA, were also dashed. All across the country, a new generation of Dreamers is growing up without the ability to drive or work all due to the Trump Administration’s hateful attacks towards immigrants. The next 90-days will feel like years for many teenagers who are hoping to continue their education in American universities but are unable to due to their lack of immigration status and inability to apply to DACA. The lives of Dreamers like me should not hinge on court rulings or presidential Twitter tantrums. It is time for Congress to act and pass legislation to shield all Dreamers.”
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