DACA’s legal battle seems to be coming to an end

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an immigration program established by the Barack Obama administration, in 2012, which protects immigrants who arrived in the US without legal documentation when they were minors.

Currently, there are more than 700,000 young immigrants covered by DACA, also known as “Dreamers”. This program offers protection against deportation for two years, with the possibility of renewal.

However, due to the stance of the Trump administration when it comes to immigration, this benefit has been on the tightrope for the past few years.

President Trump and his cabinet assure that offering legal alternatives to immigrants who crossed the borders without prior authorization, including minors, would only encourage and increase massive illegal immigration, which becomes an unnecessary burden on the local economy.

Activist groups, immigrant rights advocates, and DACA recipients have tried to protect this program and have had to confront the Trump administration in multiple legal proceedings.

Let’s look at some important facts:

1. Supreme Court ruled in favor of DACA

After multiple disputes in lower courts, the DACA case reached the US Supreme Court of Justice, and in June 2020, it ruled in favor of Dreamers and rejected the Trump administration’s request to remove it from benefits offered to immigrants in the US.

2. The Trump administration disregarded the Supreme Court’s verdict

In late July, after the Supreme Court verdict, the Trump administration, through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), implemented two rules on the DACA program, partially breaching the Court’s order.

On the one hand, no new DACA applications would be received. On the other hand, DACA recipients could renew the permit only for one year, instead of two. The Trump administration assured that these rules would be temporary while it “thoroughly reviewed” the verdict of the supreme court.

Naturally, this sparked even greater controversy among the American population and led to other legal proceedings.

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Judge removes the Trump administration’s restrictions on DACA

In mid-November, New York Judge Nicholas Garaufis stated that the Trump administration’s rules on DACA were invalid because then-acting DHS Secretary, Chad Wolf, was appointed without following the order of succession established by local law and, therefore, his rules are invalid.

Adding to that, on Friday, December 4, 2020, Judge Garaufis ordered the reinstatement of DACA no later than Monday, December 7, following parameters initially established by the Barack Obama administration.

The federal judge also ordered DHS to make a public notice, no later than Monday, so that immigrants eligible to apply for DACA can submit their applications as soon as possible, as well as those who need to renew their permit.

Other than that, it is important to remember that the American population elected Democratic nominee Joe Biden as the country’s 46th president, who also plans to protect DACA and increase benefits for Dreamers. Thus, the legal battle around DACA, which seemed endless, will possibly come to an end.

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