Listen to this article

A U.S District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in New York ruled that Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf assumed his position illegally. It is a determination that invalidated Wolf’s suspension of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program. Point to be noted that the DACA shields young people from deportation. Judge Nicholas Garaufis said, “DHS failed to follow the order of succession as it was lawfully designated. Therefore, the actions taken by purported Acting Secretaries, who were not properly in their roles according to the lawful order of succession, were taken without legal authority”. An attorney, Karen Tumlin represented a plaintiff in one of two lawsuits that challenged Wolf’s authority.

Tumlin called the ruling another win for DACA recipients and those who have been waiting years to apply for the program for the first time. The acting secretary of DHS also issued a memorandum in July effectively suspending DACA, pending review by DHS. The U.S Supreme Court had ruled a month earlier that President Donald Trump failed to follow rule-making procedures when he tried to end the program, but the justices kept a window open for him to try again. The Government Accountability Office (a bipartisan congressional watchdog) said in August that Wolf and his acting deputy, Ken Cuccinelli, were improperly serving and ineligible to run the agency under the Vacancies Reform Act. Both have been at the forefront of administration initiatives on immigration and law enforcement.

The judge wrote in Garaufis’ ruling that DHS didn’t follow an order of succession established when then-Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April 2019. It is noteworthy that a new partnership between the city of Orlando, Fl., and German aviation company Lilium inked a deal to develop the first U.S transportation location for the first flying taxi service. CNBC also reported that the Vertiport site will be in Lake Nona. It has become an innovative smart city near Orlando International Airport. It is being developed by a local Florida Company, Tavistock Development. The jet model of Lilium can hit speeds of around 300 km/hour. It has two parallel wings and 36 electric engines. The new project is expected to create about 100 jobs in Orlando.