Judge reviewing DACA expiration says he can’t ignore Trump’s previous statements on immigration

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York who’s hearing two lawsuits challenging the cancellation of a program protecting some young immigrants from deportation said Tuesday that he can’t ignore President Donald Trump’s “vicious” anti-immigrant statements.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis told Justice Department lawyers that Trump’s “drumbeat” of statements and tweets about immigrants from Mexico and other countries are relevant to the case.

"The judge is hearing lawsuits seeking to overturn the administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. "

Lawyers for the administration deny that the Republican president’s decision was motivated by hatred. They say the DACA program was legally flawed and is vulnerable to litigation from Texas and the nine other states that urged the Trump administration to rescind the program in a June letter.

“In the face of the litigation risk it was decided to wind down the program,” Justice Department lawyer Stephen Pezzi said in court.

Trump has expressed sympathy for immigrants covered by the DACA program, who are often called Dreamers, and advocates hope the program will be renewed as part an immigration deal negotiated between the White House and Congress.

"Trump has expressed sympathy for immigrants covered by the DACA program, who are often called Dreamers. "

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/...on-immigration

“How can I do that,” Garaufis asked Stephen Pezzi, a DOJ trial attorney presenting on behalf of the government, given the “injurious and unfair” comments made by Donald Trump before and after becoming president. The president’s statements about Latinos, Mexicans and other foreigners were “extreme,” “vicious,” and “recurring,” the judge said.

“It’s a different kind of commentary,” he continued, adding that the government was trying to “wipe the slate clean” in an attempt to have its decision to wind down the DACA immigration program be treated in such a way that would immunize it against litigation and court review.

That’s just what DOJ attorneys were asking Garaufis for at the hearing in Brooklyn, as the federal judge weighed competing motions—one from DOJ to dismiss the two linked DACA suits, and the other, by individual defendants in one case and attorneys general from 16 states in another, to issue an injunction to stop the wind-down. Additionally, the individual plaintiffs have asked for class certification.

Hanging over the hearing were two actions that could potentially impact Garaufis’ decision.

The first, and most immediate, is a request for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to grant interlocutory appeal, on behalf of the government, on a November decision issued by Garaufis that asserted the court’s ability to adjudicate the case.

From the bench, Garaufis expressed some confusion about papers filed with the appellate panel overseeing the appeal last week. Both parties at the hearing Tuesday clarified that they agreed that the Second Circuit should hold off deciding the appeal until Garaufis decided on the injunction motion and the motion to dismiss.

The second issue, while more remote, presented an even larger issue. Should the court even weigh in on the motions, considering the writ of certiorari now before the U.S. Supreme Court, over whether the current DACA policy is judicially reviewable and lawful?

https://www.law.com/newyorklawjourna...20180030191224

OP' thoughts: could Trump's twitter tirades come back to haunt him? first he was for ending DACA and now he has compassion towards Dreamers?