BLOCKED: FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION VIOLATED LAW IN RESCINDING DACA –- ISSUES NATIONWIDE INJUNCTION — EXPECT APPEAL!

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/09/politics/california-judge-daca-applications/index.html

Ariane de Vogue, Dan Berman and Madison Park report for CNN:

“(CNN)A federal judge in California late Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Judge William Alsup also said the administration must resume receiving DACA renewal applications.
But the ruling is limited — the administration does not need to process applications for those who have never before received DACA protections, he said.
The Trump administration announced the move to draw down the program last September with a planned end for early March. DACA protected young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation.
close dialog
The fate of DACA and the roughly 700,000 “Dreamers” is the subject of heated negotiations in Washington, where President Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats are searching for a way to allow Dreamers to stay while also addressing border security concerns. It is not clear how the order will impact those talks.
The ruling came in a challenge to the Department of Homeland Security brought by the University of California and others.
In his 49-page ruling, Alsup said “plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the rescission was arbitrary and capricious” and must be set aside under the federal Administrative Procedures Act.
The judge said a nationwide injunction was “appropriate” because “our country has a strong interest in the uniform application of immigration law and policy.”
“Plaintiffs have established injury that reaches beyond the geographical bounds of the Northern District of California. The problem affects every state and territory of the United States,” he wrote.
In response to the ruling, the Department of Justice questioned the legality of DACA, calling it “an unlawful circumvention of Congress.” DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley said that DHS “acted within its lawful authority in deciding to wind down DACA in an orderly manner” and implied that the legal battles aren’t over yet.
“The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend this position, and looks forward to vindicating its position in further litigation,” O’Malley said.

‘A huge step in the right direction’

California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra hailed the ruling as a “a huge step in the right direction” in a statement. A coalition of attorneys general, including Becerra had also filed suit against the federal government over ending DACA, maintaining that it would cause “irreparable harm to DACA recipients.”
In contrast, Mark Kirkorian, the executive director of Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that advocates for lower immigration, described the ruling as “our lawless judiciary” in a tweet.
The plaintiff, the University of California said in a statement it was “pleased and encouraged” by the judge’s ruling, which would allow DACA recipients to stay in the US as the lawsuits make their way through the courts.
“Unfortunately, even with this decision, fear and uncertainty persist for DACA recipients,” said Janet Napolitano, president of the UC school system and was the Secretary of Homeland Security in 2012 who established DACA.
While the ruling that orders DACA renewals is “a sigh of relief,” it’s a fleeting one, said Karen Tumlin, legal director of the National Immigration Law Center, which advocates for rights of immigrants.
“It is important to remember, however, this is temporary relief by a single federal district court judge, it should not take the pressure off of Congress to do the right thing and enact a permanent solution for these young people.”
Lawmakers are racing toward a January 19 deadline for government funding and a host of issues, including DACA are tied to the negotiations.
“Dreamers deserve permanence they can count on, not legal thrillers. Congress needs to bring that home,” tweeted Tumlin.

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We now essentially have a conflict with a much earlier ruling from USDJ Hanen in Texas who found that a different, but related, Obama-era program called “DAPA” was illegal. That case was affirmed by the Fifth Circuit in a split opinion and went to the Supreme Court where an equally divided Court let the ruling below stand. So, unless new Justice Neil Gorsuch sides with the plaintiffs in this case, its likely to eventually be a loser (and a winner for the Administration) before the Supremes. Hopefully, Congress will resolve this in a way that ultimately makes further litigation unnecessary.

PWS

01-10-18

 

“The Gathering Storm” — From Small Cities In The East To Big States In The West, Resistance To Trump-Sessions “War On Sanctuary” Builds!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/eight-miles-from-the-white-house-hyattsville-embraces-sanctuary-label/2017/04/04/40a10a60-18cb-11e7-855e-4824bbb5d748_story.html?utm_term=.818671d4a34a

Arelis R. Hernández reports in the WashPost:
“The Hyattsville City Council defiantly voted Monday night to declare itself an official “sanctuary city,” backing a bill that would prohibit its small local police force from enforcing federal immigration law.

The preliminary 8-2 vote — which must be confirmed in two weeks — could make the Maryland suburb a target for the Trump administration, which has promised to withhold federal dollars from sanctuary jurisdictions and says such policies undermine public safety.

Council member Patrick Paschall, the bill’s lead sponsor, said the legislation codified the city’s existing practice of “non-intervention” in federal immigration matters. The ordinance’s authors said they explicitly used the word “sanctuary” — a loose term that means different things in different places — to make clear to immigrant residents that they do not have to fear local police.

“There is no federal law that requires municipalities to participate in immigration enforcement,” Paschall said.

Hyattsville would be the second official “sanctuary city” in Maryland and the first in Prince George’s County. Takoma Park, in neighboring Montgomery County, has provided official sanctuary to undocumented immigrants for more than three decades.
The sanctuary issue has triggered a delicate dance of sorts in many larger jurisdictions, including Maryland’s Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Virginia’s Fairfax County, which have struggled to declare themselves immigrant friendly but also willing to comply with federal immigration agents in cases of serious crime or when agents have a criminal warrant.

Both President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have threatened to deny funding to sanctuary jurisdictions, but neither has given details of which localities would be targeted.”

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/04/politics/california-sanctuary-state-bill-sb-54/index.html

Madison Park reports on CNN:

“San Francisco (CNN)–In defiance of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, the California Senate passed a bill to limit state and local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Senate Bill 54, which unofficially has been called a “sanctuary state” bill, bars state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources, including money, facility, property, equipment or personnel, to help with immigration enforcement. They would be prohibited from asking about immigration status, giving federal immigration authorities access to interview a person in custody or assisting them in immigration enforcement.

The bill passed the Senate in a 27-12 vote along party lines with Democrats in support and Republicans in opposition.
SB 54 heads to the California State Assembly, where Democrats hold a super majority. If it passes there, the bill would go to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.
Its author, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León hailed SB 54’s passage on Monday as “a rejection of President Trump’s false and cynical portrayal of undocumented residents as a lawless community.”

What the bill says
SB 54 bars law enforcement from detaining a person due to a hold request, responding to federal immigration enforcement’s requests for notification or providing information about a person’s release date unless that’s already available publicly.
“Our precious local law enforcement resources will be squandered if police are pulled from their duties to arrest otherwise law-abiding maids, busboys, labors, mothers and fathers,” said de León in a statement.

The bill contains some exceptions, allowing local agencies to transfer individuals to federal immigration authorities if there is a judicial warrant or if the person has been previously convicted of a violent felony. It also requires notification to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement of scheduled releases of people who have been convicted of violent felonies.
“No one wants dangerous or violent criminals roaming our streets,” de León said.
Opposition to the bill
But critics say the bill has critical flaws.
State Sen. Jeff Stone, a Republican representing southwest Riverside County, argued on the floor that he recognized many undocumented workers don’t commit crimes and play a vital role in California. But he said that’s not what SB 54 addresses.
“We’re prohibiting local and state unfettered communications with federal authorities in getting many dangerous and violent felons out of our communities,” Stone said.
He said the latest amendments to the bill don’t cover other serious crimes such as human trafficking, child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.
“How many more Kate Steinles do we need?” he asked.”

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Seems to be on a collision course, as Nolan Rappaport and I  have pointed out.

PWS

04/05/17