PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE RULE OF LAW
President Trump should have ended the DACA program, or at least announced its phasing out, as soon as he took office. Nonetheless, his decision to announce its phasing out now, assuming he sticks to it, represents a victory for the rule of law.
The legal status of “dreamers” is a matter for Congress, not the executive, to decide. Even President Obama said so before he elected to decide the matter anyway.
Rich Lowry, no fan of Trump, argues that, thus far, Trump has been far more respectful of the rule of law than his predecessor was. He writes:
The Left complains constantly that Trump is challenging our constitutional system, by which it usually means that he is violating norms against such things as a president criticizing judges or specific media outlets or journalists in public. The fact is that Trump hasn’t actually done anything that exceeds his legitimate powers.You can reasonably argue that he’s exercised his powers foolishly at times, and perhaps Robert Mueller will end up contending that he has even exercised them corruptly. But he’s done nothing remotely on the order of the brazen lawlessness of President Obama’s two unilateral amnesties.Which makes it all the more instructive that the same Left complaining about Trump trampling our system is shocked and outraged that he would turn to the nation’s law-making body to make law on the matter of DACA. By rights, these people should forfeit any right to invoke the Constitution or the rule of law going forward, but they will, just as soon as it suits their interests again.
(Emphasis added)
Lowry is right on all counts.
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