Federal Judge Rules Acting Of DHS Unlawfully Appointed, DACA Suspension Invalid
A federal judge ruled that Chad Wolf was illegally appointed a head of Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The announcement is a major win for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration wrongly tried shutting down the DACA program.
A federal judge in New York delivered DACA recipients and advocates a major win.
After more than a year, Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled that Chad Wolf was unlawfully appointed as acting head of DHS. The ruling invalidates a memo Wolf released on July 28 suspending new applications for DACA recipients. The judge ruled that Wolf was not lawfully appointed because President Trump did not appoint Wolf in accordance with the law.
It is another loss for the Trump administration after losing the presidential election.
Wolf’s memo directed at DACA affected million of young people trying to live, work, and go to school in the U.S. DACA recipients and activists have been fighting the federal government’s attack on the program for years. The Trump administration announced their first attempt to kill the program in September 2017.
People are celebrating the ruling for setting things right.
“Today’s decision is another win for DACA recipients and those who have been waiting years to apply to the program for the first time,” said Karen Tumlin, director and founder of Justice Action Center, in a statement. “After the June Supreme Court victory, the Trump administration was bound to reset the DACA program to its original terms from 2012. Rather than doing that, the Trump administration gutted the program again—locking out young people who had been waiting years to apply and severely curtailing the program for existing DACA recipients. DACA recipients and immigrant youth deserve more—much more.”
The case has exposed a lot of questionable moments in Wolf’s appointment.
A brief states that it appears that the DHS told the Department of Justice that things might be different than what was presented. The brief highlights that DHS’s claim that the person who appointed Wolf was himself appointed at a different time casting doubt on the series of events that led to Wolf’s confirmation by the Senate.
Attorneys are ready to help people renew and submit their DACA paperwork.
If you or someone you know needs help with their DACA paperwork and submitting paperwork, click here for a list of resources. You can also reach out to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center for help with your DACA needs.