President Trump set March 5 as the arbitrary end-date for the Differed Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but a decision by the Supreme Court last week has left an injunction in place that keeps the program on life support for now.
The Court refused to hear the administration’s appeal of a federal judge’s January nationwide injunction that forced the office of Citizenship and Immigration Services to continue accepting DACA renewal applications until a court can rule on whether or not Trump violated the Administrative Procedure Act when he hastily rescinded the program in September.
The Supreme Court determined that a federal appeals court must hear the case before they do, in compliance with typical Court procedure. The case likely won’t return to the Court until next term, but Dreamers and their allies continue to press Congress for a long term solution, including at a protest today at the Capitol.
President Trump announced in September that he would let the program expire in March, forcing Congress to come up with a bi-partisan plan if they wanted to save the Dreamers from deportation. Congress has made several attempts to revive DACA as part of a broader deal on immigration policy, but they have yet to pass any solution, largely because the President has sabotaged many of the most popular proposals.
Immigrant rights activists say the DACA program has improved the lives of thousands of immigrants. Approximately 800,000 undocumented immigrants, who are commonly referred to as “Dreamers,” have been issued work visas, received a college education, or deferred deportation because of DACA, allowing them to stay independently and safely within their communities.
Media Resources: Feminist Newswire 8/31/17, 2/16/18
