Supreme Court's rejection of Trump’s bid to end DACA hailed as ‘win for human dignity and respect’
On Thursday, June 18, the Supreme Court issued a decision that extends the life of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It was started by President Barack Obama in 2012. The program allows people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to live and work in the country. In 2017, the Donald Trump regime announced it would end the program, putting many across the U.S. in a state of anxiety.
In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court said the Department of Homeland Security's decision to rescind DACA was arbitrary and capricious. “These horrible and politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives,” President Trump tweeted in the aftermath of the decision. “We need more Justices or we will lose our second Amendment and everything else. Vote Trump 2020!”
"Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn't like me?" he added.
According to the Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, “DACA recipients deserve closure and finality surrounding their status here in the U.S. Unfortunately, today's Supreme Court decision fails to provide that certainty. The DACA program was created out of thin air and implemented illegally. The American people deserve to have the nation's laws faithfully executed as written by their representatives in Congress -- not based on the arbitrary decisions of a past administration.”
According to a CNN report, around 650,000 people are currently protected from deportation by the program. Of this 81 percent were born in Mexico. The report noted, among other things, that nearly 256,000 U.S. citizens who are children have at least one parent who is a DACA recipient.
The decision was received with overwhelming positivity by Democrats and liberals on Twitter. Oregon senator Jeff Merkley wrote, “I'm filled with joy for Dreamers [those protected under DACA] from across the country who have a legal foundation for their participation in American society. SCOTUS found Trump's effort to dismantle DACA capricious. I couldn't have put it better. Now let's pass the Dream Act so Dreamers have a path to citizenship!”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison tweeted, “Proud that MN was part of the lawsuit against Trump’s #DACA repeal in 2017 right from the start. Today’s win at SCOTUS is a win for everyone who values human dignity and respect. I stand with #Dreamers and still #DefendDACA because #HomeIsHere and Dreamers are #HereToStay.”
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, representing Missouri's 5th District, wrote, “#HomeIsHere for nearly 700,000 #Dreamers. Thanks to the #SCOTUS ruling today, these Americans are #HereToStay. We have more work to do to protect and welcome immigrants in this nation, but today my heart is full.”
Many noted that the fight was far from over for dreamers. A Twitter account wrote, “Today we can celebrate a victory. SCOTUS blocked the Trump Administration from ending #DACA. But this issue is far from over and we must continue to #DefendDACA. Demand your elected officials to defend immigrants - push for permanent protections!”
Another wrote, “Congratulations #Dreamers! The preservation of #DACA is only step one. We must vote in 2020 to guarantee a permanent solution to broken immigration and too many broken promises.”
The decision on DACA, however, also received criticism from the conservatives and Republicans. Senator Ted Cruz said, “The fact that elites in Washington don’t see a problem with illegal immigration doesn’t answer the reality for the millions of American men and women who do. Chief Justice Roberts’ gamesmanship makes a mockery of our rule of law.”