Trump Denied: Supreme Court Denies Hearing the Trump Administration's Appeal for Deferred Action

On Monday, February 26, 2018, the Supreme Court denied hearing the Trump Administration's appeal for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Trump Administration sees DACA as unconstitutional and attempted to put pressure on Congress to come up with a solution by the March 5th deadline. With the Supreme Court pushing back, the deadline is no longer present and DACA holders can continue to renew their DACA status. The Supreme Court may choose to hear the case at a later time but a total of four justices must agree to hear a case. On Monday the court stated; "It is assumed the court of appeals will act expeditiously to decide this case."

DACA recipients who had DACA status in September are still eligible to apply for a renewal for up to 2 years. Because of the increase in amounts of renewal applications, DACA holders may temporarily lose their ability to work if they fall out of status in the time being. Children who would have reached the age eligible for DACA are not able to apply for status and are subject to deportation. About 20,000 DACA holders lost their status by failing to renew their DACA in the designated time period addressed by the Trump Administration. The senate is currently trying to find alternate solutions to keep DACA alive for a few years while the new immigration laws are sorted out.

Many California state officials feel as if the Supreme Court’s decision showed that rescinding DACA at this time would be unfair and unconstitutional to all recipients. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "Today's Supreme Court action shows that rescinding DACA was not only legally questionable, but also unjust and cruel. The court's action is welcome news, but only Congress can provide the permanent protection our Dreamers need and deserve." Theodore Boutrous, a partner at Gibson Dunn was exceptionally happy about the denial of appeal. He stated, "DACA is a lawful and important program that protects young people who came to this country as children and who know this country as their only home.” Theodore and his office believe that the court will not hear the case any time before May 2018.

The decision of the Supreme Court was not unpredictable because overruling the lower courts is not common. If Congress comes up with a decision to extend the program or finds another path to citizenship for DACA holders, the current provisions of the legal case will be removed. If you have any questions regarding the current state of DACA please contact Attorney Nicholas Mireles at NicholasMireleslegal@gmail.com.