President Trump Alludes to New Plans for DACA, Merit-based Immigration

After the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s attempt to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), he gave an interview on July 10, 2020, to Telemundo in which he referred to an “executive order” and a “bill” interchangeably that would make unspecified reforms. Congress has not passed a bill related to DACA, but he said he planned to sign “an immigration bill that a lot of people don’t know about.” He said he would “be signing a major immigration bill as an executive order, which the Supreme Court now, because of the DACA decision, has given me the power to do that.”

Legal commenters noted that immigration law cannot be changed through executive order. Several immigration-related bills are floating around, including a 600-page merit-based immigration proposal supported by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, and a bill passed by House Democrats. However, any chances of passage of immigration reform appear dim before the presidential election in November.

Related Links:

• Univision: “Por qué Trump no puede reformar el sistema migratorio por decreto y sin el Congreso: explicación de los expertos.”
• Univision: “Trump anuncia una ‘reforma migratoria’ por decreto y hasta republicanos le responden que no tiene autoridad”
• Politico: “Trump Is Still Looking for a DACA Deal.”