When the United States Ceased To Be a Nation of the Law
From this article:
Donald Trump first attempted to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in September 2017, a move that would’ve stripped its beneficiaries of work permits and subjected them to deportation. But his administration continually cut corners, failing to explain the basis for its decision and refusing to consider the impact of DACA repeal on immigrants, their communities, and their employers (including the U.S. Army). This June, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious” under federal law and therefore “set aside” DACA repeal.
To implement that decision, U.S. District Judge Paul Grimm compelled the administration to restore DACA to its pre-repeal condition on July 17. Grimm’s order required the Department of Homeland Security to let DACA beneficiaries renew their status for two years, accept new applicants, and restore “advance parole,” which permits travel outside the country. But DHS did not do that. Instead, the agency maintained that it would reject new DACA applicants. It also declined to accept DACA renewals or reinstate advance parole.
What does all this mean, not only to DACA recipients, but to all other Americans? Simply that the laws of the United States have come to mean precisely nothing at this point, as anything coming out of the judiciary that stands against the will of the Trump administration is simply ignored.
We have become a nation whose laws are strictly enforced against the common American, but mean exactly zero to its president. I challenge readers to look up “authoritarian regime,” and find a single material difference between that concept and the form of government we have before us today.
