Copyright 2018, Farhad Sethna, Attorney

Late in the evening on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, much to the dismay of Breitbart readers and other immigrant haters and bashers, a Federal judge in California ruled that the Trump administration had not properly considered the effects of rescinding DACA, and ordered the DHS to immediately restart the program.  The judge effectively enjoined (stopped) the DHS from not accepting DACA applications, that is – the DHS must now accept applications filed by DACA-eligible individuals.

What can we expect now? Most certainly an appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals as well as a motion to stay the Judge’s ruling.  The standard for granting injunctive relief includes a showing of “irreparable harm” to those seeking the injunction. On this matter, those denied of DACA will certainly prevail, setting up this matter for a showdown at the Supreme Court.  Whether the Supremes will wade in to stop the injunction from going into effect is to be seen.  The make up of the Supreme Court – given that it is at full strength – will certainly determine the outcome of this matter.

My prediction:  Whatever the near term outlook, DACA will ultimately be halted – it was created by executive action, and can be dismantled by executive action as well.  The administration did not stand up to immigrant bashers in September and Trump caved in to the threat of a lawsuit (see other articles on my blog, www.immigration-america.com), rescinding the DACA executive order in phases, beginning October 2017.  It is now up to Congress to create and pass something lasting.