'Dreamers' again in the spotlight of the court: what can be changed in the program this time

A federal judge in New York ruled that Acting Head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chad Wolfe did not have the authority to restrict work permits to the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants brought to the United States as a child, because his appointment to a leadership position in the department was carried out in bypassing legal procedures. How will this affect the "dreamers", said the publication The Washington Post.

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US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis has banned the Donald Trump administration from restricting the issuance of work permits through the DACA program. The reason was that the appointment of Wolfe as acting head of DHS was bypassing standard procedures, as the administration was in a hurry to change the leadership of the department.

Thus, according to Garaufis, Wolfe's July decree limiting the duration of work permits under the DACA program from two to one year, "was not issued on the basis of legal authority."

The Garaufis ruling exacerbates the complex legal battle surrounding the DACA program, which was designed to allow those who were illegally brought to the United States by children to remain in the country. More than 640 immigrants, known as dreamers, currently rely on the program to live and work in the United States.

The court order does not oblige DHS to restore the original version of DACA, both parties must make an appointment and discuss the matter.

Several related lawsuits are also pending, creating potential conflict between the courts. One of the key lawsuits in Texas examines the legality of the program as a whole, with a hearing scheduled for December.

On the subject: USCIS: Over 110 Thousand DACA Applicants Arrested for Serious Crimes

President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office in January and was vice president when President Barack Obama created DACA, has pledged to restore the original version of the program.

The Department of Homeland Security argued that Wolfe was legally appointed to the position. DHS criticized the Garaufis ruling and called it "another example of an activist judge substituting the Trump administration's decisions for his own political preferences" and accused him of "unwillingness to seriously analyze facts or laws."

Immigrant rights advocates welcomed the decision and hoped that it will lead to a faster restoration of the original version of the program.

“People have been waiting since 2017,” said attorney Karen Tumlin. “I consider this a big victory.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has also called on the court to declare Wolfe's decree illegal, said courts consistently rule in favor of DACA recipients.

“The Supreme Court has already ruled that President Trump's attempts to unfairly punish Dreamers were unlawful. Now another federal court has ruled that the administration's attempts to circumvent the court order and punish innocent young people are just as unlawful,” James said.

The U.S. Supreme Court barred Trump from closing the Obama-era program in June, saying the government had failed to provide the necessary legal justification for the move. Immigrants hoped that DHS would re-establish the original program and open it up to new applicants who have not been allowed to apply since 2017.

Instead, Wolfe issued a July decree shortening the duration of work permits. Wolfe said DACA "poses a serious political threat" that could warrant its termination, but he did not make a final decision on the future of the program.

The decree prompted lawyers to ask Garaufis to intervene. They argued that Wolfe's appointment was illegal, as was his decree.

On the subject: Unexpected effect: 14 of thousands of illegal immigrants took advantage of DACA program for citizenship

In August, the Government Audit Office announced that Wolfe and his deputy, Ken Cuccinelli, had illegally assumed office. Trump often appointed acting heads of departments, since their full appointment requires Senate approval, and if they get it, then it will be more difficult to fire them later, which Trump did not like.

DHS called the watchdog's findings "unfounded."

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The judge found that several DHS leaders had changed their succession lines to allow people outside of the regular chain to take over the department.

Wolfe is Trump's fifth head of Homeland Security and was sworn in as acting in November 2019.

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