DACA has always been more trouble than it's worth
SAN DIEGO -- Donald Trump has made politics less rational and more reflexive.
If he supports something, his backers will say that they also support it -- even if they would normally oppose it. Consider the Trumpsters who call themselves conservatives but now support tariffs and trade barriers.
In the same way, if the president ends a program, his opponents want it back -- even if that program is flawed, problematic and not in the best interests of the people it is supposed to help.
More and more these days, no one really stops to think about how they feel about anything. What matters most is how they feel about Trump. The rest evolves naturally from there.
For instance, in September 2017, Trump announced the end to a controversial Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
As to whether Trump had the power to do so, federal judges are of mixed minds.
Recently, in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Judge John Bates issued an injunction on the attempt to end DACA and ordered the administration to once again start accepting applications. But Bates delayed his own order until Aug. 23, which gave the administration time to begin the process of appealing the ruling.
Meanwhile, another judge seems to be intent on ending DACA. In the Southern District of Texas, Judge Andrew Hanen previously struck down the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), which afforded legal protection to the undocumented parents of U.S.-born children. More recently, he heard arguments from 10 states seeking a nationwide injunction against DACA because they claim it is unconstitutional. Hanen didn't issue an immediate ruling but he is considering the request.
Any way you slice it, the legal fate of DACA seems to be headed for the Supreme Court.
Having skipped law school, I can't give you a legal opinion about DACA. But here's a logical one. If Democrats argue that Trump doesn't have the authority to end the program, it becomes very difficult for them to argue that President/Barack Obama had the authority to launch it.
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