The ruling came on a Tuesday night and could have major impacts on those eligible for DACA. U.S. District Court Judge John D Bates ruled the federal government never truly explained why they were canceling the DACA program back in September 2017.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was started by former President Barack Obama back in 2012 and shielded eligible young undocumented immigrants from deportation and allowed them to legally work.
The federal judge ruled the cancellation of DACA by the Trump administration could not be justified but Bates placed his ruling on a 90-day hold “to afford [the Department of Homeland Security] an opportunity to better explain its view that DACA is unlawful,” Bates wrote.
Two other federal judges from both California and New York have reached a similar conclusion. As a result of those rulings, the federal government once again began accepting applications for those eligible to renew DACA. The feds are not accepting applications from those eligible to apply for DACA for the first time.
In his ruling, Bates writes that his decision would mean the federal government would have to once again accept new applications as well as those wanting to renew DACA.
One of the main arguments made by the Trump administration to end DACA was saying that it was an unconstitutional executive order created by Obama. Bates concludes in his ruling that the administration failed to provide any evidence to make that conclusion.
“The Department’s analysis of DACA’s constitutionality was so barebones that the Court cannot ‘discern’ the ‘path’ that the agency followed. Thus, it too cannot support DACA’s rescission,” Bates wrote.
Judge Bates also writes the administration failed to address what would happen to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who had been accepted into the DACA program.
“The Rescission Memo made no mention of the fact that DACA had been in place for five years and had engendered the reliance of hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries, many of whom had structured their education, employment, and other life activities on the assumption that they would be able to renew their DACA benefits,” Bates wrote.
The Trump administration now has 90 days to address the court and fully explain its reasoning for canceling the DACA program. Judge Bates ordered his ruling held for 90 days for that to happen.
FileRight continues to offer it’s DACA renewal application preparation service free of cost for those who qualify. Finding out if you’re eligible takes just a few minutes and you can get your application started right away.