Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020
The Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s efforts to end DACA, the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrival program, today. The program allowed young children brought to the country illegally, at a very young age and through no fault of their own, to be shielded from deportation.
DACA was created by an executive order issued by President Obama back in 2012. President Trump rescinded that executive order with an executive order of his own in September 2017. Several lawsuits were brought against the administration challenging Mr. Trump’s authority to do so.
The Supreme Court today agreed, saying Mr. Trump did not have the authority to rescind the program simply through an executive order. It’s unclear why the Supreme Court found a president could not issue an executive order rescinding a previous president’s executive order, but they gave the administration an opportunity to relitigate their case.
In a 5-4 split decision, the court found that the Trump administration did not adequately justify the termination of the program. Striking the order down on such a technicality allows the administration to “fix” their mistake and take another run at ending the program, if it chooses to do so.
The Court decision is based on the Administrative Procedure Act, not equal protection, which means the Trump administration could go back and fix the mistake and undo DACA.
— Kimberly Robinson (@KimberlyRobinsn) June 18, 2020
Chief Justice on DACA: “The dispute before the Court is not whether DHS may rescind DACA. All parties agree that it may. The dispute is instead primarily about the procedure the agency followed in doing so.”
— Kimberly Robinson (@KimberlyRobinsn) June 18, 2020
President Trump has repeatedly signaled support for a permanent solution on the program, even going so far to call for a pathway to citizenship for up to 1.8 million illegal immigrants under DACA back in 2018.
Democrats have repeatedly refused to reach compromise on the issue however, citing the fact that in exchange for a permanent solution on DACA, President Trump insisted on funding for a security wall to be built along the U.S.’ southern border.