DACA Still in Place…For Now
As most of you know, President Trump revoked the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) in September 2017 and gave Congress a deadline of March 5th to come up with a legislative fix. Federal courts in New York and California ruled in early February that the Trump Administration could not rescind DACA, leaving the fate of DACA in limbo. Injunctions were issued in order to keep major elements of DACA in place while it was challenged in court. The Trump Administration decided to appeal the recent federal courts’ decision to the U.S. Supreme Court but made an unusual move in doing so. The Administration decided to bypass a federal appellate court and instead asked the U.S. Supreme Court for immediate review. Just today, the Supreme Court rejected the Administration’s decision to bypass the federal appeals court, forcing the case to go through an appeals court first. A decision from the federal appeals court could take months.
What does this mean for Dreamers? To put it simply, DACA still stands…for now. Those whose permits are about to expire should renew, as the Administration must still accept renewal applications. However, the Administration is not required to accept new applications.
Although a victory for Dreamers, this is not a long-term solution. DACA could still remain in limbo for months unless Congress creates a permanent solution or a decision is made in court. One downside of this temporary fix is that it may take the political pressure off Congress to find a fix before March 5th, knowing that legal challenges could take months in court. This means that the likelihood of a DACA debate amongst lawmakers before the midterm November elections is slim since both Democrat and Republican lawmakers usually try to avoid controversial decisions right before they’re up for re-election.
What can you do? The fight for Dreams continues! Contact your Senator or State Representative about finding a solution for Dreamers. To find your elected official and his or her contact information, please visit the following link: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials.