Dismantling A Lawless Autocrat's Attempts To Side-Step Our "Checks And Balances'' Form Of Governing... Piece, By Awful Piece.

The able USDC Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, sitting in Brooklyn's federal district courthouse this evening, has just dropped the other shoe, on the lawlessness that was. . . Chad Wolf's stupidly-craven stint at DHS.

Because last month the able Judge ruled Wolf had no authority to act, having exceeded his statutory expiry date, without any full Senate vote for approval and/or appointment -- tonight, all of DACA continues as good law, just as it was -- prior to Mr. Obama's departure from office. [There was already a wide-ranging west coast injunction on this same topic as of June, to be fair -- from the various iterations of the East Bay Sanctuary litigation.] These guys are truly wholly-incompetent crooks:

. . .On July 28, 2020, Defendant Chad Wolf issued the Wolf Memorandum (0kt. 297-1)1, which purported to make certain changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA") program. On November 14, 2020, this court held that Mr. Wolf was not lawfully serving as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security when he issued the Wolf Memorandum, because the Department of Homeland Security ("OHS") failed to follow its order of succession, as it was lawfully designated under the Homeland Security Act ("HSA"). See Batalla Vidal v. Wolf, - F. Supp. 3d -, 2020 WL 6695076 at *8-9 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2020). The court also certified a "DACA Class" of all persons who are or prima facie will be eligible for deferred action under the terms of the 2012 Napolitano Memorandum, i.e. DACA as it existed prior to the attempted rescissions; and certified a "Pending Applications Subclass" of all persons who had an application for deferred action through DACA, whether an initial application or a renewal, pending on any date between June 30, 2020, and July 28, 2020, that have not been or will not be adjudicated in accordance with the 2012 Napolitano Memorandum. . . .

Under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), a "reviewing court shall. . . hold unlawful and set aside agency actions, findings, and conclusions found to be . . . in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right.'' 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(C). Accordingly, because Mr. Wolf was without lawful authority to serve as Acting Secretary of OHS, the Wolf Memorandum is VACATED. In light of the vacatur, all parties agree that the DACA program is currently governed by its terms as they existed prior to the attempted rescission of September 2017. . . .

Plaintiffs have thoughtfully addressed the subject of accrual of unlawful presence in their Memorandum and Reply. The court takes seriously any collateral consequence that may arise as a result of the unlawful Wolf Memorandum. However, the court declines to enter an ex ante declaration on that issue at this time. The court reserves the right to impose further remedies if they become necessary. . . .

Good news, indeed -- slow in arriving to be sure -- but bit by bit, the unlawful night of terror is being. . . dismantled, piece by awful piece. Onward, smiling, into the weekend -- with under 50 days left.

नमस्ते