The Supreme Court said on Monday it would not rule quickly on President Trump’s power to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program, keeping in place a temporary protection from deportation for nearly 700,000 young immigrants for at least the rest of the year.
Various media reported that the decision was seen as a defeat for the Trump administration and a respite for DACA recipients.
The court’s ruling in effect eliminates the March 5 deadline the president had given Congress to come up with a legislative solution for so called Dreamers. That was the date given for the DACA to end when Trump announced his decision to rescind the program in September.
Last month, a federal district judge in San Francisco issued a nationwide order that required the government to keep the DACA program in place.
While the administration filed an appeal with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco, it also asked the Supreme Court for a quick reversal. In the meantime, a second district judge in New York also blocked the administration from ending DACA.
The Supreme Court did not rule on Trump’s power to end the program but rather opted not to rule on district judges’ decisions before appeals courts weigh in. The high court could still look at the matter after the appeals courts hand down their decisions, but that may not happen before the end of the year.
Congress could still pass legislation to grant a path to citizenship to Dreamers, but legislators have failed to come to an agreement on the issue. Earlier this month, the Senate failed to muster enough to votes to consider any of several proposals for immigration reform, including one proposed by the White House.
Monday’s decision takes off the pressure from legislators to decide on the Dreamers status. But taking the issue off the legislative agenda will also mean that Congress won’t adopt new policies to restrict legal immigration sought by the Trump administration.
Photo above by Jackie Ramírez.
