Trump once praised the program. Today he drew closer to being allowed to kill it.
The five conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices – including two installed by President Donald Trump – appear ready to allow the nation’s chief executive to kill the DACA program that protects 700,000 to 800,000 Dreamers. The program, started by President Barack Obama, offers work authorizations and protections from deportation for those who were brought to America as children and have not known any other land as home for nearly their entire lives.
The New York Times reports that the Supreme Court’s four liberal justices during oral arguments Tuesday appeared to focus on the president’s motivation for ending DACA, officially the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The court’s five conservatives appeared more inclined to not question the president’s motivations, ignoring the fact that intent is central to many acts, including those that are or could be criminal.
Noting that DACA “has broad, bipartisan support,” the Times reports that in earlier in his tenure Trump “praised the program’s goals and suggested he wanted to preserve it.”
In contrast, President Trump earlier Tuesday posted a tweet that includes a lie:
In reality, one of the stipulations of the DACA program is that enrollees cannot have been convicted of crimes.
The court is expected to hand down a ruling next spring.