A federal judge in New York ruled on Saturday that Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty program for illegal alien children was illegally suspended by Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf because the acting secretary, according to the judge, assumed his position unlawfully. At the time, many argued that it was then-President Barack Obama who lacked the authority to bypass Congress in 2012 and grant amnesty through executive memorandum.
Bill Clinton-appointed Judge Nicholas Garaufis decided that Acting Secretary Chad Wolf lacked the proper statutory authority to hold his current position, as did Kevin McAleenan before him, who took over when Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in Apr. 2019. Since Wolf lacked the authority to hold the position, the judge decided that Wolf lacked the legal authority to suspend the program.
"DHS failed to follow the order of succession as it was lawfully designated," Judge Garaufis wrote. "Therefore, the actions taken by purported Acting Secretaries, who were not properly in their roles according to the lawful order of succession, were taken without legal authority."
In Sep. 2017, President Trump moved to end the DACA program, but the Supreme Court ruled in Jun. 2020 that President Trump did not follow the proper procedure in terminating DACA. In the 5-4 ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal wing of the court to keep the program in place, but the court left the door open for DACA to be rescinded in the future. Wolf ended the program, pending a review by DHS, the following month.
So DACA remains and Joe Biden, if he and Kamala Harris end up in the White House, vow to reinstate the program and pass out amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.
