On Thursday, June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), a program which protects approximately 700,000 young immigrants from deportation.
Since 2017, the Trump Administration has tried to end DACA, which President Obama authorized through executive action in 2012 to protect immigrant children brought to the United States by their parents. The program does not provide a path to lawful permanent residence or citizenship, but it does provide recipients valid work authorization. The Supreme Court held that the Administration’s rescission of the program was arbitrary and capricious.
As a result of the decision, the nearly 700,000 DACA recipients can continue to safely live, work, and study in the United States. The terms of the decision returns DACA to its initial form, allowing recipients to renew, and likely reopens DACA to new applicants or those prior recipients who couldn’t previously renew. The decision may also allow eligible recipients to apply for advance parole to allow them to travel abroad for humanitarian, education, or employment purposes. We anticipate USCIS to issue instructions regarding the impact of the decision in the near future.
HSPRD’s immigration and civil rights groups have defended DACA in the lower courts, and HSPRD filed an amicus brief before the United States Supreme Court in in support of the program.
Individuals who may now be eligible for DACA for the first time, who were previously unable to renew, or who currently have DACA are encouraged to consult with an attorney to apply for or renew their DACA immediately. If you or someone you know has questions about applying for or renewing DACA, please contact one of the following attorneys in our immigration practice group.
Kalman D. Resnick at kresnick@hsplegal.com
Robert W. Krug at rkrug@hsplegal.com
Ian D. Wagreich at iwagreich@hsplegal.com
William B. Schiller at wschiller@hsplegal.com
Chirag Badlani at cbadlani@hsplegal.com
Kendra Scheuerlein at kscheuerlein@hsplegal.com
Kelli Fennell at kfennell@hsplegal.com
Naiara F. Testai at ntestai@hsplegal.com
Susan Gzesh at sgzesh@hsplegal.com
