U.S. District State Judge William Alsup ruled that the Trump administration’s actions to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is illegal in Regents of the University of California v. United States Department of Homeland Security.
“The agency’s decision to rescind DACA was based on a flawed legal premise; and government counsel’s supposed ‘litigation risk’ rationale is a post hoc rationalization and would be, in any event, arbitrary and capricious,” Judge Alsup stated in his ruling on the case.
The Trump administration’s argument is not based on sound legal arguments, according Judge Alsup. In the past, the administration said they perceive DACA as illegally enacted by the Obama administration, however this perception has no legal precedent and has not been upheld in courts.
Back in September, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that March 5 would act as the deadline for Congress to create a replacement for DACA, but after this federal ruling, recipients are able to continue to renew two year work permits. Trump said he would revisit the issue if Congress could not solve it legislatively by the deadline, but the future of the program is still unknown at this point.
