Los Angeles Times - 13.11.2019

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WASHINGTON — The

Supreme Court’s conserva-

tive justices sounded skepti-

cal Tuesday about the legal-

ity of an Obama-era policy

that has allowed 700,

young immigrants to live

and work in the United

States, suggesting the court

may clear the way for Presi-

dent Trump to end the pro-

gram.

Chief Justice John G.

Roberts Jr., whose vote is

likely to be the deciding one,

appeared to agree with

Trump’s claim that Presi-

dent Obama’s policy of pro-

tecting the so-called Dream-

ers was legally questionable,

undercutting the main legal

argument used by lower

courts and supporters of the

program.

Trump’s solicitor gen-

eral, Noel Francisco, urged

the justices to toss out rul-

ings from three federal

judges and allow the presi-

dent to “wind down” the pro-

gram, known as Deferred

Action for Childhood Ar-

rivals. He called DACA a

“temporary stop-gap mea-

sure that could be rescinded

at any time.”

He ran into steady criti-

cism from the court’s four li-

beral justices. But Roberts

and the four other conserva-

tives leaned in his favor.

At several points, Rob-

erts suggested that the

Trump administration may

be on firm ground in think-

ing DACA was illegal. He

noted that a similar, more

far-reaching Obama immi-

gration order — protecting

as many as 4 million immi-

grants who were parents of

some U.S. citizens or lawful

residents — had been

blocked by the U.S. 5th Cir-

cuit Court of Appeals and

then the Supreme Court in a

tie vote.

“Do you need more than

that?” Roberts asked. “Can’t

he just say that’s the basis on

which I’m making this deci-

sion?”

At issue Tuesday was an

unusual test of presidential

power as well as a legal

struggle over the fate of hun-

dreds of thousands of young

adults who were brought to

the United States illegally

when they were children.

More than one-fourth of

them live in California.

For two years, Trump has

insisted he had to shut down

Court appears

ready to rule

against DACA

Conservative justices

seem to back Trump’s

effort to end the

program that shields

700,000 ‘Dreamers.’

By David G. Savage

[SeeCourt,A8]

On the eve of his election as the new
leader of U.S. bishops, Archbishop Jose
Gomez had a message for the faithful
back home: It’s well past time for immi-
gration reform.
“In this great country, we should not
have our young people living under the
threat of deportation, their lives de-
pendent on the outcome of a court
case,” the archbishop of Los Angeles
said in an email to his flock Monday
evening.
Alluding to Tuesday’s U.S. Supreme
Court arguments on the Deferred Ac-
tion for Childhood Arrivals program,
Gomez continued: “We pray tonight
that our president and Congress will
come together, set aside their differenc-
es, and provide our young brothers and

sisters with a path to legalization and

citizenship.”

Already the highest-ranking Latino

in the U.S. Catholic Church, Gomez on

Tuesday marked another milestone

when he became the first Latino

elected president of the U.S. Confer-

ence of Catholic Bishops.

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Gomez

has in recent years evolved into a high-

profile and authoritative voice in the

American church, advocating for policy

reforms that would include a path to

citizenship for immigrants living in the

country illegally. The soft-spoken 67-

year-old will begin his three-year term

as president just as his tenure as vice

president comes to an end.

His election, which kicked off the

second day of the bishops’ fall meeting

in Baltimore, was regarded by many

A fighter will lead U.S. bishops

L.A. archbishop, an immigrant advocate, is their new president

ARCHBISHOPJose Gomez be-

came the first Latino elected pres-

ident of U.S. Catholic bishops.

Steve RuarkAssociated Press

By Sarah Parvini

[SeeArchbishop,A8]

The email arrived near
midnight Saturday. USC
President Carol L. Folt in-
formed the campus commu-
nity about a recent series of
student deaths.
She said she wanted to
keep the university in-
formed, but also clear up ru-
mors and misinformation.
“People are searching for
answers and information as
we attempt to make sense of
these terrible losses,” Folt
said. “There is a great deal of
speculation about the
causes of these deaths and
most are being attributed to

suicide. This is not correct.”

Faced with the deaths of

nine students since Aug. 24,

USC administrators are en-

gaged in a delicate balancing

act as they notify students,

attempt to quell rumors, of-

fer mental health resources

and also try to avoid trigger-

ing students who may be in

the midst of a mental health

crisis.

A campus of 47,500 stu-

dents, USC experiences four

to 15 student deaths in a

typical school year, officials

said. Last year, six were re-

ported.

Officials have confirmed

that three students this year

died by suicide. In some

cases the cause of death is

undetermined; in others

families did not want details

disclosed, they said.

Universities don’t have

rule books, nor is there any

scientific research, about

how to navigate addressing

multiple student deaths and

suicides, said Dr. Paul Nes-

[SeeUSC, A9]

Spate of 9 student

deaths rattles USC

School sends several

emails trying to quell

speculation. Some

were suicides but not

most, president says.

By Colleen Shalby,
Leila Miller and
Soumya Karlamangla

ORAL ARGUMENTS IN L.A.

Irfan KhanLos Angeles Times

Garfield High students rally in Little Tokyo in support of young immigrants protected by DACA, whose

fate is being decided by the Supreme Court. California is home to 220,000 “Dreamers.” CALIFORNIA, B

WASHINGTON —

Democrats’ top priority as

they open the first public

hearing of the impeachment

inquiry into President

Trump is to keep it serious

and straightforward, but

also engaging.

They need to avoid the

yawns that followed testi-

mony of former special

counsel Robert S. Mueller

III in July, the circus that

surrounded the testimony of

Trump ally Corey Lewan-

dowski in September as he

defied lawmakers’ ques-

tions, and the clownish use

of a bucket of fried chicken to

mock Atty. Gen. William

Barr in May.

They want to prevent Re-

publicans from permanently

branding the inquiry as a

partisan sham or inquisition

of the president.

And their ultimate hope

is to allow two career State

Department officials who

expressed deep concern

about Trump’s behavior to

tell their story in a way that

will resonate with the ap-

proximately one-quarter of

Americans who haven’t

made up their minds about

whether he should be re-

moved from office.

Trying to strike that bal-

ance will be House Intelli-

gence Committee Chairman

Adam B. Schiff (D-Bur-

bank), who has restructured

the hearing to try to keep it

free of partisan antics and to

convey the somber tone be-

fitting the fourth presi-

ANALYSIS

Keeping

Trump

inquiry

under

control

Democrats’ challenge

is to make sure the

public impeachment

hearing is engaging,

and yet somber.

By Jennifer Haberkorn

[SeeAnalysis,A7]

Impeachment

for beginners

Doyle McManus breaks

down what to watch for

in the first public hear-

ing in the impeachment

investigation. A

Witness is likened

to an Eagle Scout

William Taylor came to

the attention of investi-

gators because of his text

about a “crazy” move by

Trump. NATION, A

FBI releases

yearly data

on hate crimes

Report shows “disturb-

ing shift” to attacks

directed against people

as opposed to property.

Crimes targeting Lat-

inos soar. NATION, A

Getting the word

out on Real ID

Most airlines are doing

little to alert travelers

about the new security

measures, which start

Oct. 1. BUSINESS, C

Conception

fire prompts

safety review

A congressional sub-

committee will hear

about the cause of the

dive boat tragedy that

killed 34 people on La-

bor Day. CALIFORNIA, B

Weather

Coastal clouds will

give way to sunshine.

L.A. Basin: 75/56. B

Printed with soy inks on

partially recycled paper.

A

rt Shapiro stands on the edge

of a Chevron gas station in the

north-central Sierra, sipping

a large Pepsi and scanning the

landscape for butterflies.

So far he’s spotted six species — a

loping Western tiger swallowtail, two

fluttering California tortoiseshells, a

copper-colored common checkered-

skipper, a powdery echo blue, a rusty-

looking Nelson’s hairstreak and a brown

Propertius duskywing.

And that was while waiting for his ride

to finish up in the restroom.

Shapiro jots the names of each species

on a white note card, then tucks it into his

T-shirt pocket stuffed with three pens,

one Sharpie, a glasses case and news-

paper clippings.

It’s not a bad showing for a gas station

at 7,000 feet, he says, climbing back into

the car. Last year was abysmal for butter-

flies in California. For the first time in his

life, he didn’t see one single monarch

caterpillar all summer long. This casual

count at the

ART SHAPIRO, a professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, searches

for butterflies on a blooming manzanita in Gates Canyon near Vacaville, Calif.

Photographs byBrian van der BrugLos Angeles Times

COLUMN ONE

His passion’s in full bloom

For 47 years, Art Shapiro has meticulously tracked

butterflies in California. His findings concern him.

By Deborah Netburn

reporting from donner pass, calif.

[SeeButterflies, A12]

A CALIFORNIAtortoiseshell but-

terfly. Shapiro has the nation’s long-

est-running monitoring project.