US Court: Reinstate DACA for undocumented immigrants

Ruling on Obama-era programme expected to help many Indian migrants

Washington, Dec. 5: Reversing the decision of the outgoing Trump administration, a federal court has ordered full reinstatement of an Obama-era programme that protects undocumented immigrants brought to the US as minors from deportation, a ruling that will help a large number of Indian migrants. The Trump administration tried ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2017, but the US Supreme Court blocked its attempt in June.

On Friday, US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in the Eastern District of New York directed the Department of Homeland Security to extend the twoyear renewals to DACA recipients and start accepting applications from firsttime applicants beginning Monday. This means that the first time since September 2017, new applicants who were not previously eligible may now apply for the programme which shield undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation. “The court believes that these additional remedies are reasonable. Indeed, the government has assured the court that a public notice along the lines described is forthcoming,” Judge Garaufis said in his order.

The DACA is an immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the US after being brought to the country as children to receive a renewable twoyear period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for a work permit in the US. DACA recipients are often referred to as Dreamers.

To be eligible for the programme, recipients cannot have felonies or serious misdemeanours on their records. Approximately 640,000 immigrants are enrolled in the DACA programme. According to a

2019 report by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), there are at least 630,000 Indians who are undocumented, a 72 per cent increase since

2010. There are currently at least 4,300 active South Asian DACA recipients.

As of August 2018, there are approximately 2,550 active Indian DACA recipients. Only 13 per cent of the overall 20,000 DACA eligible Indians have applied and received DACA, SAALT said. There are 1,300 active Pakistani DACA recipients, 470 Bangladeshi recipients, 120 Sri Lankan recipients, and 60 Nepali recipients, it said.

The Trump administration can now appeal to a federal appeals court or go to the Supreme Court for temporary relief from enforcement of the judge's order. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the court has upheld the Obama-era programme initiated under the presidency of Barack Obama, which respects American values and the will of the American people. “Dreamers need and deserve real, permanent action to ensure that they can continue to contribute to our nation. In the 117th Congress, our Democratic House Majority will once again pass bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers, which will be signed into law by the BidenHarris Administration,” she said.