On Thursday, June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DACA. While this is a huge win for DACA recipients, it is still possible that the Trump administration could try again, using different legal arguments.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote, “We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies . . . only whether the agency [Department of Homeland Security] complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action.”
The Supreme Court’s decision means that the Trump administration’s request to rescind DACA was flawed procedurally. Further attempts to rescind the DACA program are possible. The outcome of another attempt to rescind DACA would require following appropriate procedures that show that DACA is not a sound policy based on a clear set of reasons. It is unclear at this time whether a federal agency will try again. For now, this provides some relief for DACA recipients concerned about being able to stay and work in this country.
For historical DACA updates, see our previous blogs: