'Extreme,' 'Vicious' Trump Statements Put DACA on a Different Level, Judge Says.

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?

Karen Tumlin, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, argued that the administration had violated federal law by abruptly cutting off DACA with little explanation. Pezzi countered that the administration had ordered an “orderly wind-down” of DACA. Under Trump’s action, DACA is set to expire in March

Justice Nicholas Garaufis said at a Brooklyn hearing that Trump’s commentary has been “vicious” and said the comments could be evidence that the decision to rescind the program in September was motivated by Trump’s “animus” toward Latinos, violating the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

“In this country, in over 230 years, this is not ordinary,” Garaufis said, referring to statements Trump has made on Twitter and elsewhere. “It’s extreme. It’s recurring. It’s vicious.

You should be a reporter =)

But I read and read and still don't know what the judge is saying here... he's taking into consideration all the shit Trump says, but so what? Does that mean he's close to making a decision, does he have the power to change anything? I thought it went to the supreme court already? idk im super out of touch with the news lately.

yeahhh boy, trump not shutting the fuck up going to help us.

I advised several people in my circle to renew even if they had 1 year left and even if the govt promises a permanent solution, we sent our renewals today, better safe than sorry.

Now, in the SOTU Trump addressed the gang violence people, he referred to those criminals as "unaccompanied minors"....

As soon as he did that he rendered us as the worst of the worst......

And the proposal he talked about, he referred to 1.8 million ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS not Dreamers.... We were not even in the picture...

He said to the ICE agent that he's going to send him reinforcements.