DHS fully restores DACA on federal judge’s order

SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration has fully restored the Obamaera Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for immigrants brought to the U.S. as youth, complying with a federal judge’s order.

The Department of Homeland Security posted on its website Monday that it is accepting new applications, petitions for twoyear renewals as well as requests for permission to temporarily leave the U.S.

The department said it “may seek relief for the order,” signaling that its concession to the court order may be short-lived if its legal effort succeeds.

The announcement is still a major victory for young people who have been unable to apply since Trump ended DACA in September 2017. His administration has long argued that DACA is unconstitutional.

After the Supreme Court ruled in June that Trump had violated federal law in how he ended the program, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would only accept renewal applications for one-year permits instead of the original two years. DACA currently shields about 650,000 people from deportation and makes them eligible for work permits.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in the Eastern District of New York on Friday ordered DHS to post a public notice within three days — by Monday — that it would accept applications under the original terms of the program. Garaufis has ruled that Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, was unlawfully serving in his position.

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to reinstate DACA when he takes office in January. Advocates have called for congressional action to legalize people eligible for DACA as well as others among the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.