In June 2020, SCOTUS ruled on a case impacting the young immigrants part of the DACA program. Another step on the young immigrants’ long fight for a path to legal status.
Before DACA they were undocumented.
Immigrant youth got a temporary solution through a process called DACA. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This happened under President Obama’s administration in 2012.
But Trump has anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic views. Moreover, he is on a mission to destroy Obama’s legacy, and thus issued an executive order to halt the program. Never mind there is extensive documentation that asserts the success of the program.
Those actions brought the case all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The litigation produced incredible stress for the DACA recipients who saw their lives in the USA threatened by deportation.
SCOTUS Ruling
In June of 2020, SCOTUS declared that, although the existence or dismantling of DACA is a prerogative of the president of the USA, Donald Trump acted illegally. Moreover, the manner was “arbitrary and capricious” and therefore illegal.
SCOTUS ended, at least for now, with this phase-off attempt.
Although immigrants were relieved by the SCOTUS’s decision, they know that Donald Trump will try to dismantle DACA again.
More Uncertainty and Doubts
Many doubts still persist about the impact of the June 2020 decision. Are DACA applications accepted for those who did not apply for the program before? or, is the opportunity to request advance parole possible?
Analysts say that since Donald Trump’s executive order was vacated, the original DACA process must be in place. Others state that since SCOTUS denied Trump’s filing, the lower court orders on DACA stay.
The lower court order basically stopped new applicants from filing. It also ended the advance parole program which allowed DACA recipients to travel overseas for educational, professional, or humanitarian reasons.
While the analysts debate this, USCIS must announce soon new procedures. At the time of the posting of this blog, USCIS has not taken action, so questions remain up in the air.
For those already enrolled in the program, USCIS recommends applicants file their DACA renewals between 120 and 150 days prior to the expiration. See the instructions for Filling Out Form I-821D, “Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” clicking the link.
Legal Business Global Founder and Managing Attorney
Attorney Marcos E. Garciaacosta is an immigrant. He started his journey in the USA as an H-1B Visa recipient, working in the high-tech industry as an engineer. He currently is a business, trademark, and immigration attorney in the Phoenix metro area.
Call us for an appointment at (480) 324-6378.