Once the arguments have been heard for and against, the opinions are divided and the anxiety continues. Defenders and detractors of DACA, -a program that protects the deportation of 700,000 young people brought to the country as minors- presented their arguments before the nine members of the Supreme Court. The session lasted about 80 minutes and the opinions of those who were in the hearing, on what the Supreme Court will decide, are divided.
Since President Trump announced the cancellation of DACA, there have been many speculations that have arisen regarding what the top US court has to say on DACA.
Last Tuesday, November 12, finally both parties confirmed the arguments, for and against, to maintain the program, but the decision is not yet known and that increases uncertainty and mortification among the sheltered youth and their families.
Pro-immigrant activists prefer to think positively about the decision that the supreme will take because they say they noticed them interested, all except Judge Clarence Thomas who did not ask a single question, but they are not worried since he is famous for almost never asking questions during the hearings.
Those who witnessed the debate of the DAPA program, -Project temporary program that offered to protect the deportation of 5 million undocumented immigrants, parents of legal residents or US citizens, – are the most optimistic, because they say that this time the audience was different, they say that now they noticed interest of the magistrates, something that encourages them to wait for a ruling in favor of the DACAmented.
They highlighted the comment made by judges Samuel Alito and Stephen Breyer, who criticized the positions of the administration regarding the future of the program by quoting them verbatim: “Ping-pong is being played with them.”
Another argument in favor was when all those present were asked to reflect how terminating DACA could cause “an interruption” in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and their families. However, the comment made by Judge John G Roberts, Jr., who is president of the court continues to worry them, who during the session indicated that he views DACA as something illegal from the very beginning.
Returning to the comments heard there, it is worth highlighting what some judges indicated: “we will not question the reasoning of the administration (Trump) and, in any case, we consider their explanations sufficient.”
Trump’s government defender, Noel Francisco, urged judges not to listen to the judgments of three previous judges and to end DACA.
The Supreme Court was divided against the arguments about whether or not DACA should be revoked. The president of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, whose vote is probably the decisive one, asked difficult questions to the parties and did not show inclination to either side, the record notes.
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
SEAN T. CARPENTER – LAWYER MANAGER – SALT LAKE CITY
Attorney Sean Carpenter is the Managing Attorney for the Wilner & O’Reilly office in Salt Lake City. Competent in all areas of immigration law, Sean currently focuses on family-based, employment-based immigration, as well as U visas, 601 exemptions and investment-based immigration cases. He has helped numerous people with TPS obtain legal permanent residence through family petitions and other means. Attorney Sean Carpenter graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Translation, and received his law degree from Arizona State University, where Magna Cum Laude graduated. He speaks Spanish and likes to work with people from all over Latin America.
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