The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to take the unusual step of reviewing a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). As Ariane de Vogue of CNN explains, the Supreme Court disfavors bypassing lower courts for direct review in these situations. Typically, the justices wait for a federal appeals to review the district court ruling first, and only then review the case.

In January, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the Trump administration’s rescission of DACA was “arbitrary and capricious,” and therefore violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal law governing administrative agency power.  Solicitor General Noel Francisco called the injunction “unprecedented” and argued that DACA is unlawful and should be discontinued.  

The justices met to discuss the issue on Friday, but have yet to announce any action on the case. The case is back on their schedule for discussion for this Friday. Check out The LA Times , Reuters, The Hill, The New York Times, and  Newsweek for more commentary. And as always, stay tuned to ISCOTUSnow for updates on this issue and all things Supreme Court.

This post was drafted by ISCOTUS Fellow Matthew Webber, Chicago-Kent Class of 2019, and was edited by ISCOTUS Editorial Coordinator Anna Jirschele, Chicago-Kent Class of 2018, and ISCOTUS Co-Director and Chicago-Kent faculty member Christopher Schmidt.