LIFE GOES ON FOR NOW FOR DACA DREAMERS: UNDERSTANDING WHAT HAPPENED WITH DACA IN THE SUPREME COURT

Last month the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to directly consider an order made by a California district court judge in January. The decision has had a dramatic impact on the debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the fate of the over 600,000 DREAMers who are part of it.

The court battle began when U.S. District Judge William Alsup in California ruled that President Trump’s administration had wrongly ended the DACA program. He ordered it to resume. The Department of Justice took its appeal directly to the Supreme Court, which referred the case back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California.

By refusing to bypass the Court of Appeals and hear the case directly, the Supreme Court has ensured that DACA will exist until the fall at least, giving DREAMers a temporary reprieve from deportation as Congress strives to create a permanent solution for them. In the interim, DACA DREAMers will be able to keep renewing their protections as the case returns to the lower courts, although no new applicants may apply.

Last September President Trump announced that he would be ending the program and set the official termination date as March 5. The conclusion of the Obama-era program would cause enrollees to lose their work permits, affect their enrolment in schools and universities, and expose them to deportation.

The appeals courts will probably rule on a number of DACA-related lawsuits this summer, which means that the Supreme Court will not be hearing the cases until its next term, which commences in October.

DACA recipients should consult an immigration attorney quickly to review their options. Under the terms of Judge Alsup’s order, USCIS will not accept ‘advance parole’ applications that allow DREAMers to re-enter the country after traveling abroad. Those who re-apply early, in case renewals are stopped a second time, may not be successful, as USCIS may reject applications received more than 150 days before expiration.