A federal judge in Maryland on Monday dismissed a challenge to President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“This Court does not like the outcome of this case, but is constrained by its constitutionally limited role to the result that it has reached,” Judge Roger Titus said in his opinion. “Hopefully, the Congress and the President will finally get their job done.”
“An overwhelming percentage of Americans support protections for ‘Dreamers,’ yet it is not the province of the judiciary to provide legislative or executive actions when those entrusted with those responsibilities fail to act,” Titus continued.
{mosads}The Obama-era program permits immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, often called Dreamers, to stay in the country without fear of deportation.
The Trump administration moved to end DACA last year and allowed lawmakers on Capitol Hill six months to come up with a permanent fix for the program, the deadline for which expired on Monday.
Dreamers and immigrant rights groups across the country have legally challenged the move to end DACA.
The deadline, however, was essentially negated after the Supreme Court declined to hear arguments on the legal fight surrounding the program.
Monday’s ruling nevertheless marked a victory for the Trump administration.
“Today’s decision also highlights a serious problem with the disturbing growth in the use of nationwide injunctions, which causes the Maryland court’s correct judgment in favor of the government to be undermined by the overbroad injunctions that have been entered by courts in other states,” Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley said, according to Politico.
The president blamed Democrats on Monday for inaction on the program.
The president has refused to back a number of bipartisan proposals to extend the program.