How unexpected, sad to say.
In the middle of the pandemic and street demonstrations across the country calling for racial justice, the U.S. Supreme Court goes and rights a wrong against immigrants by blocking the president's decision to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals _ DACA.
This deeply divided Supreme Court, in this deeply divided country, especially when it comes to immigration, got it absolutely right. Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion and joined liberal justices in the 5-4 vote, fittingly called the Department of Homeland Security's actions "arbitrary and capricious" and, therefore, unlawful.
The struggles of the "Dreamers" tug at the heart: An estimated 650,000 kids raised in the United States, but brought here illegally, faced deportation to their native countries, which they barely remembered, if at all.
OBAMA'S PLAN
In 2012, President Barack Obama created DACA through an executive order, shielding these young adults from deportation and granting them work permits, to boot. And he put a cap on it: DACA recipients must have arrived in the United States by 2007 to be eligible for the special status. It was a shrewd election-year move, but one that was smart and compassionate.
Enter President Donald Trump, who loathes brown immigrants, lives to wipe out any good that Obama did and has all the compassion of a cinderblock. He eliminated DACA.
But the Dreamers, hundreds of thousands of them now young adults making the most of the work permits DACA gave them, impressively organized and created their own movement to stay in the only country they've really known.
To make their case, several have met with editorial boards, including the Miami Herald's, and explained how their lives had been cast askew under the assault. As illegal immigrants, some could not attend college or land a decent job. Some had to live in the shadows, fearing eventual deportation of themselves and their parents. Further, Dreamers pay more than $5.7 billion in federal taxes; they own almost 60,000 homes.
TRUMP BALLISTIC
The anti-Trump Supreme Court ruling is a solid victory for the Dreamers, and also gives hope that, in some instances, the highest court has not yet become a rubber stamp for the president's heartless stance on immigrants.
The justices considered the law, first and foremost, but also recognized Dreamers' contributions and the negative moral and human consequences of letting Trump's order stand.
The president, of course, was apoplectic: "These horrifying and politically charged decisions from the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts in the face of people who proudly call themselves conservative. We need more (conservative) judges or we are going to lose our Second Amendment and everything else."
Unfortunately, Trump likely will fight on, cluelessly, to end DACA. The Supreme Court, in its narrow ruling, pointed out that the administration failed to consider other options to eliminating the program. This pretty much opens the door to another attempt on DACA's life and the lives it protects. In fact, a day after the ruling, Trump vowed to renew his effort to end the program, ensuring the Dreamers continue to live in fear and limbo.
Like we said, the compassion of a cinderblock.
