Written by Sebastian Acosta
A federal judge in Brooklyn restored on Friday the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, forcing the Trump Administration to accept new applications for the program which grants protections to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally since childhood.
“Today’s decision from a federal judge in New York is a victory for the courageous directly impacted plaintiffs, all DACA recipients and DACA-eligible youth,” said Juluana Macedo do Nascimento, state and local policy manager for United We Dream.
The judge, Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District in New York, had previously ruled in November that a memo issued by the Department of Homeland Security narrowing the program was invalid because Chad Wolf, the acting secretary, is not legally serving in that role. The memo had sought to close the program to new applicants and issue one-year permits, rather than two.
Judge Garaufis also ordered the DHS to post a public notice by Monday announcing that it is accepting new applicants for the program. Approximately 640,000 immigrants are currently enrolled in DACA and as many as 300,000 more could qualify.
Nevertheless, DACA continues to face legal challenges elsewhere. In Texas, Republican attorney generals have urged a federal judge to declare the program unlawful and clear the way for an “orderly wind down” during the next two years. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 22.
“Whatever its policy merits, DACA is clearly unlawful, as this Court has already held,” prosecutors wrote in an October court filing. “This is a textbook example of prohibited executive lawmaking.”
