In 2012, then-President Barack Obama issued an executive order that created a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which ensured that children …
In 2012, then-President Barack Obama issued an executive order that created a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which ensured that children brought into the U.S. illegally by their parents would not be deported. They were dubbed “Dreamers.” But federal judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court in Houston – a President George W. Bush appointee – on Friday ruled the executive order was unlawful and that Obama exceeded his authority when issuing it. Hanen in his ruling said Obama’s executive order violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because it failed to allow the public to comment. “D.H.S. failed to engage in the statutorily mandated process,” Hanen wrote, “so DACA never gained status as a legally binding policy that could impose duties or obligations.” The Obama administration had a history of ignoring the APA when issuing rules. It also ignored APA guidelines when issuing new rules for how colleges and universities handled allegations of sexual assault. Hanen also wrote that those currently receiving benefits from the DACA program would not be immediately affected by his ruling, The New York Times reported, and added that the federal government should not “take any immigration, deportation or criminal action” against current recipients that it “would not otherwise take.
