Federal judge fully restores DACA
But ‘Dreamers’ aren’t entirely in clear — another case looms
Thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children are immediately eligible to apply for an Obama-era program that grants them work permits, a federal judge in New York ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn said he was fully restoring the 8-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program to the days before the Trump administration tried to end it in September 2017.
He ordered the Homeland Security Department to post a public notice by Monday to accept first-time applications and ensure work permits are valid for two years.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf had issued a memo in July reducing DACA recipients’ work permits to one year, but Garaufis ruled last month that Wolf had unlawfully ascended to the agency’s top job and vacated the memo.
“The court believes that these additional remedies are reasonable,” Garaufis said. “Indeed, the government has assured the court that a public notice along the lines described is forthcoming.”
Maria Rocha, a sixth-grade teacher at Mark Twain Middle School in San Antonio who was brought to the U.S. by her undocumented parents when she was 3 years old, said the ruling “brings me joy.”
“This was a surprise,” said Rocha, 33. “I wasn’t expecting this to be on the table.”
DACA was signed into law June 15, 2012, her 25th birthday. She said it was the best birthday she’s ever had. She since has received DACA protection from deportation.
She said the ruling “makes me feel secure.” After living undocumented for decades, her parents recently became legal residents and were able to travel to Mexico
and visit their relatives for the first time since they moved to the U.S.
Advocates for immigrants cheered the longawaited ruling, though they have expected Presidentelect Joe Biden to fully restore the DACA program as soon as he takes office in January — something he pledged to do.
But the immigrants known as “Dreamers” aren’t necessarily in the clear.
Attorneys general in Texas and other states have asked a federal judge to declare DACA unlawful and to provide for an orderly wind-down of it. A hearing in that case is scheduled for later this month.
Karen Tumlin, a lawyer for the immigrants in the case, cheered Friday’s ruling. But she said the immigrants need Congress to pass a law that would grant them a firm path to citizenship.
“This is a day that DACA recipients and young people have waited for for far too long,” she said. “It’s a reminder, as always, that what we really need is a permanent solution.”
Diego Mancha, 26, of San Antonio received DACA protection and a renewable work permit in 2013.
He said he applied for another renewal in April, but it’s been on hold.
He hopes Friday’s order will kick U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services processing into gear.
“It’s a good opportunity to our spirits to be lifted but still remember that there’s more to be done,” he said.
About 640,000 immigrants currently are enrolled in the DACA program.