Campaign Action
11,000 young undocumented immigrants have renewed their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections in the weeks after U.S. District Judge William Alsup partially reinstated the program, according to newly released data from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). To date, “two federal courts have now determined that Donald Trump’s termination of DACA was unlawful,” notes the National Immigration Law Center:
The agency released figures Wednesday for the three weeks after Jan. 10, the day after U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the government to resume accepting renewals under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Another 22,000 people filed for DACA after their previous permits had expired or been terminated. Those requests are still pending. As of Jan. 31, 683,000 people have DACA protection.
Alsup ruled Jan. 9 that the Trump administration failed to justify ending the program. Another judge issued a similar ruling in a separate case in February.
The Trump administration tried to halt renewals by leapfrogging over lower courts, but was denied by the Supreme Court and told to go through the regular process. DACA is an important lifeline for Dreamers, but they shouldn’t have to live their daily lives from court decision to court decision, and the 11,000 pales in comparison to the over tens of thousands who have lost their protections since September, and continue to lose their status at a rate of 122 a day. They deserve stability. The urgency to pass permanent protections in the form of the DREAM Act remains.