DACA can continue, thanks to a federal judge in Brooklyn who gave a boost to the young people who depend upon the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program to live legally in the United States. Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis issued a nationwide injunction to prevent the Trump administration from ending the program.
Judge Garaufis said the Trump administration did not offer adequate legal grounds for ending the program created by President Obama. He wrote that the Trump Justice Department claimed the creation of DACA was unconstitutional, and he said that “conclusion was erroneous.”
This ruling gave heart to Dreamers and advocates who have struggled to protect young people brought to the United States as children by their parents, who know only the U.S. as their home.
Marielena Hincapé of the National Immigration Law Center said, “This ruling is particularly important as the arbitrary March 5th deadline that resulted in the crisis President Trump created is right around the corner.”
This is the second time in two months that a federal judge ruled against the Trump administration in favor of DACA. On January 9, 2018 Judge William Alsup of the Federal District Court in San Francisco ruled that the administration must “maintain the program on a nationwide basis.”
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman led a coalition of 17 attorneys general and a group of non-profits including the National Immigration Law Center and Make the Road by Walking.
He said, “Federal courts from coast to coast have now reviewed the record and reached the same conclusion: President Trump’s decision to rescind DACA was illegal. Today’s federal court ruling is a victory for the over 42,000 New York Dreamers and more than 700,000 Dreamers across the country. There is much more work ahead to permanently preserve DACA and protect the millions of American families, businesses, hospitals, and universities that depend on Dreamers every day to succeed, but today is an important step forward in that fight.”
It’s expected that the Trump administration will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case quickly.
