US judge blocks Trump move to ban ‘dreamers’

San Francisco, January 10 

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s decision to end a programme protecting young immigrants from deportation.

US District Judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme while their lawsuits play out in court.

Alsup said lawyers in favour of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants “were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm” without court action. The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial.

DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the US illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. The program includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

Earlier yesterday, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders from both parties met at the White House to discuss the DACA programme and other immigration issues as they sought a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown, which could occur in 10 days.

Trump suggested that an immigration agreement could be reached by addressing young immigrants and border security with what he called a “bill of love,” then by making comprehensive changes that have long eluded Congress.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the programme would be phased out, saying former President Barack Obama had exceeded his authority when he implemented it in 2012. The move sparked a flurry of lawsuits nationwide.

Alsup considered five separate lawsuits filed in Northern California, including one by the California and three other states, and another by the governing board of the University of California school system.

DACA recipients are commonly referred to as “dreamers,” based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act that would have provided similar protections for young immigrants. — AP

Ruling outrageous: WH 

The federal judge’s ruling is “outrageous,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Wednesday. “An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process,” Sanders said.

Prez pushes for merit-based immigration

• With the US mulling reforms to end illegal immigration, President Donald Trump today pushed for a merit-based system to allow only people with “great track record” to enter the country
• He also called for ending the chain migration, the fastest and easiest way to gain legal entry into America, through sponsorship by a family member who is already a legal resident or citizen of the United States
• “I would like to add the words ‘merit’ into any bill that’s submitted because I think we should have merit-based immigration like they have in Canada, like they have in Australia,” President Donald Trump said