Federal judge William Alsop in San Francisco has blocked Trump’s administration from ending DACA. Claiming that the move to rescind the program was based on “a flawed legal premise,” he ruled that the program must be left in place until the litigation to remove it has been decided.

Dreamers’ lives were thrown into uncertainty and turmoil last fall when Trump’s administration rescinded DACA. At the time many young people were told that if they didn’t get their DACA renewal applications done before October 5th, they would lose their status. This is a huge win for anyone who is benefiting from this program in the United States.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra  was quoted as saying about Tuesday’s ruling to block the move to end DACA:

“Today’s ruling is a huge step in the right direction. America is and has been home to Dreamers who courageously came forward, applied for DACA and did everything the federal government asked of them. They followed DACA’s rules, they succeeded in school, at work and in business, and they have contributed in building a better America. We will fight at every turn for their rights and opportunities so they may continue to contribute to America.”

WHAT IS DACA?

Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program that was put in place during the Obama administration to protect young people who came with family members or by themselves under the age of 16. It stopped them from being deported and allowed them to work, and go to school in the United States. But because it was an executive order it was always a temporary fix, and it was never intended to be a path to residency (notwithstanding yesterday’s rather unusual public meeting in which Trump talked with senators about a “bill of love.”)

DACA has been shown to have impacted our country in numerous positive ways including:

• Providing an onramp to legal work and education
• Getting youth paying taxes and contributing meaningfully in society
• Providing revenue to the governement
• Creating a more positive, healthier, and peaceful environment for approximately 800,000 people it affects and their families and communities, by providing a legal structure for them to engage meaningfully in this country
• Jobs like paramedics, teachers, nurses are held by DACA receipients

WHAT DOES THIS REPRIEVE MEAN?

We can still process DACA applications. If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of young people this program affects,  find an experienced team of immigration lawyers to renew the process for you ASAP. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean you can try to apply for DACA if you don’t already have it. THIS IS A REPRIEVE FOR RENEWALS ONLY.

HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO FILE?

Trump is now talking about the aforementioned creating a “bill of love” for people who are in the DACA program, while expanding the wall, and ending “chain migration”... Really, if there is anything we have to come to expect from the Trump Administration it’s that things can change very quickly. For now, my best advice is to renew your application as quickly as possible.