Supreme Court Keeps DACA Alive

In a 5 to 4, decision, the Supreme Court held that the Trump administration could not immediately shut down DACA. Keep in mind that, although the decision is a great Victory the matter is not resolved. The Supreme Court decided that the justifications relied upon by the Government in terminating DACA were not appropriate and in violation of Administrative Law. The decision in essence keeps DACA alive, but the Court noted that the Government does have a right to terminate DACA, but that the bases for termination must be properly justified as required by Administrative Law. In addition, the Supreme Court remanded the cases that served as the basis of the Supreme Court’s decision back to the lower courts so that the matter is further litigated allowing the Government another opportunity to decide whether or not to terminate DACA and if the Government decides to terminate then to formulate an appropriate basis more in compliance with Administrative Law to properly terminate DACA.

What does this decision mean for today?

It is a great Victory for sure. At a minimum, the Supreme Court decision will allow for continued DACA renewals. I also believe that the decision can be interpreted to mean that new applications may be submitted and required to be accepted by Immigration. The problem is that the decision did not specify exactly that new applications could be submitted only that the process or reason for terminating  DACA was not appropriate which implied that the whole DACA process should continue including the opportunity for new applications to be submitted and accepted by immigration. For now, if you need to renew, continue the renewal process. For those who may be eligible for DACA but never applied or did not become eligible until recently, keep following our website for updates to see if the opportunity for new applications is confirmed. There is reason for cautious celebration but based on the recent bad faith efforts by the Government to terminate DACA, it likely means that DACA is not out of danger. A crucial event that will define whether DACA continues will be the upcoming election. If President Trump is still president, he will likely continue his campaign to eliminate DACA however it is unlikely any further attempts will be made to terminate this year. Therefore, if you have DACA or want DACA and you have relatives who are Legal Permanent Residents, encourage them to become Citizens to vote for your future because 2021 may return a revitalized Presidential administration under Trump to further pursue termination of DACA.