Sotomayor at DACA Oral Arguments: ‘This Is About Our Choice to Destroy Lives’

During oral arguments at the United States Supreme Court Tuesday on he future of the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty program, Justice Sonia Sotomayor injected politics into the discussion, saying President Donald Trump has said he would find a way to keep DACA recipients in the United States but has not done so.

Sotomayor also addressed what other justices cited — the “reliance interests” of DACA recipients, or how the government program has allowed illegal migrants to get Social Security numbers, drivers licenses, and work permits that they have come to rely on.

Sotomayor said:

I think my colleagues have rightly pointed [out] there’s a whole lot of reliance interests that weren’t looked at, including the very President of — current President telling DACA-eligible people that they were safe under him and that he would find a way to keep them here. And so he hasn’t and, instead, he’s done this. And that, I think, has something to be considered before you rescind a policy.

“Right,” Solicitor General Noel Francisco said.

Ax-wielding suspect subdued by teen military recruit’s MMA takedown in car wash clash caught on video

‘Unprecedented’ agreement releases emergency oil reserves as gas prices spark concerns

House Oversight Committee demands depositions from Bondi and Lutnick in Epstein probe

Dem lawmaker disputes police bodycam amid reports he said he was above the law: ‘On top’ or ‘on time’

Bipartisan housing push advances, but Trump-backed investor ban faces resistance

Trump administration puts key Biden-era immigration policy on notice: ‘Unsustainable cycle’

The ‘Worst Mayor in America’ Is Attempting a Political Comeback — With a New Party

Kamala Harris Cancels Multiple Book Tour Stops Amid Controversy

Unusual Calls Made from NYC Terror Suspect’s Home Hours After Arrest Raise Questions: Report

Uh-Oh: Video Captures Schumer Finally Admitting It – He Hates the SAVE America Act Because It Cleans Voter Rolls in Every State

Hillary Clinton caught on video stepping back after pushy former president nudges her at busy NYC intersection

Shipping disruptions spread beyond oil: Helium, sulfur, and semiconductors

3 brothers of Iraqi descent arrested in Oslo for allegedly ‘terror bombing’ of US Embassy

Republican Sen. John Cornyn Calls on GOP to Change Filibuster and Pass SAVE Act as He Prepares for Primary Runoff Against Ken Paxton

Minnesota human services officials skip fraud hearing as Walz promises reform

“Not just say I’ll give you six months to do it,” Sotomayer said, referring to Trump’s past announcement that he would hold off on rescinding DACA for six months to allow Congress to come up with a legislative solution.

“And where is the political decision made clearly?” Sotomayor said referring to the June 22, 2018 memorandum issued by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to explain why the department was rescinding DACA.

“That this is not about the law; this is about our choice to destroy lives,” Sotomayor said, directly expressing what she believed a ruling to end DACA would mean to those enrolled in it.

The back and forth between the justices, Francisco and two attorneys who argued for DACA petitioners — attorney Ted Olson and Michael Mongan, Solicitor General at California Department of Justice – included more discussion about the impact the ruling would have on both DACA recipients and the future enforcement of federal immigration law.

Olson and Mongan argued that the Trump administration did not provide a compelling reason for rescinding DACA, which came to the high court after differing results in lower court decisions on the matter.