FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2018

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Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

NILC Statement on Federal Court Order Blocking End of DACA

LOS ANGELES — A federal court today blocked the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, ordering the administration to resume accepting DACA renewal applications from anyone, nationwide, previously covered by the program. The decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California comes after the administration, on Sept. 5, announced an abrupt ending of the DACA program, setting an arbitrary deadline of only a month later for some DACA recipients to reapply. More than 15,000 DACA recipients have since lost their work permits and have become vulnerable to detention and deportation.

The decision today by the federal court in California deals with a set of related cases brought by the University of California and others. A hearing to consider similar claims in a separate lawsuit challenging the termination of DACA, Batalla Vidal v. Nielsen, is set for Jan. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn.

Karen Tumlin, legal director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“Since President Trump rescinded DACA, we’ve been fighting on every front to ensure that immigrant youth have a secure future in this country, which is their home. We know that the administration’s decision to end the program and the way it was carried out was not only immoral, but unlawful. A federal court in California has now blocked the administration’s decision, ordering that renewal applications be accepted nationwide. The court’s order does not require the administration to accept new DACA applications for now.

“This victory should make it even more clear that Congress must act now. Dreamers — and our nation — deserve more than temporary relief from the courts; they deserve a bipartisan Dream Act. The American people, a majority of Congress and the president all want to see it happen. It’s time for Congress to get it done.”

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