Supreme Court Blocks Orders on DACA Discovery
A divided U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government does
not have to comply with a federal district court’s discovery order
related to its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program
. There is ongoing litigation challenging the Trump’s administration
cancellation of DACA, and the district court had ruled that the government
should turn over additional documents, beyond what it already had provided.
These documents included documents from the White House, the Department
of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security, and the district
court had ordered the government to be ready to provide the documents
no later than December 22, 2017. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, disagreed,
and stayed the district court’s discovery order, at least until
the high court can address the government’s petition that challenges
the discovery order.
The dissenting justices argued that the government was seeking a remedy
reserved only for the most extraordinary of cases, and that this case
did not qualify as such. In his dissent, Justice Breyer cited previous
cases indicating that the district court’s discovery order was well
within its powers, and that the Court’s majority ruling would result
in the Court being asked to step into more and more run-of-the-mill discovery
disputes, which is inappropriate.
Most recently, the federal court issued an order banning the federal government
from ending DACA anywhere in the country. In response, the Trump administration
has not only appealed the district court’s decision to the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 9thCircuit, but it also taken the highly unusual step of asking the Supreme
Court to rule on the federal district court order, even though the appellate
court has not even considered the appeal. In its petition, the federal
government claims the district court order is unprecedented, in that it
requires the federal government to sanction an ongoing violation of law
being committed by over 700,000 immigrants and give them affirmative benefits,
such as work authorization. This request for extraordinary relief is known
as “certiorari before judgment
.”
Whether you are a DACA participant or simply have a pending deportation
case we are here to help. The deportation defense lawyers of Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C
have handled countless deportation defense claims on behalf of individuals
who have been detained and charged with removal. We know how devastating
it can be for individuals to be detained and separated from their families.
We care about you and your family, and we want to help you remain in the
country. Call our office today to set up your legal consultation.
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