Supreme Court to Review Trump’s Decision to Terminate DACA Protections

The Supreme Court term ended last week announced on Friday that it will decide in its next term whether President Trump can end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

What We Know:

  • DACA, which was created under the Obama administration in 2012, has protected nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.  
  • The Trump administration referred to the program as “unconstitutional” but the U.S. Court of Appeals, along with several courts across the country, ruled that Trump’s reasoning to end the program was flawed and that the administration failed to provide a solid rationale for ending it. They ruled that the Trump Administration must continue the program.
  • After the Court’s announcement, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra — who brought one of the cases to the Supreme Court for review — said in a statement, “DACA reflects our nation’s commitment to helping hardworking people and creates hope and opportunity for a new generation – many of whom were brought to our country as toddlers. So far, both lower courts in our legal fight to protect DACA have agreed with us that the Trump Administration’s attempt to end it was unlawful.”
  • The Trump administration tried to end the program in 2017 but instead was forced to approve more than 373,000 renewal requests as the result of a nationwide injunction led by Becerra.
  • The Court recently denied a request to expedite the review of a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

The Court will hear three cases on DACA which will be consolidated into one ruling when the justices return in October. A decision will most likely be made in the spring or summer of 2020.