More than 700,000 young people can continue to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court of the United States’ ruled (5–4) to temporarily protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), citing it had the authority to review the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate DACA, and determined that the Administration ended the program illegally. This major victory is temporary because it still gives the Administration an opportunity to terminate the program again on legal grounds.
But, today’s decision means that hundreds of thousands of young people, including over 4,000 South Asian DACA recipients, can continue to live, work, and study in the U.S. without fear of deportation. And until the Trump Administration responds, people can continue to renew applications for DACA and will soon be able to submit new applications.
“Although it is conditional, today’s victory is welcome at a time when the war on Black communities feels endless. It is a reminder that our work is not done, but together we can win. We have to keep demanding solutions that benefit us all — including pushing for a permanent, legislative solution that ensures a path to citizenship for all immigrants, defunds ICE, CBP, and the police and invests in communities, which are pillars of the Movement for Black Lives policy agenda, ” said Lakshmi Sridaran, SAALT’s Executive Director.
SAALT joins immigrant justice groups across the country in advocating that Members of Congress pass a permanent solution that helps rather than harms immigrants and communities of color. More than 200,000 DACA essential workers — including 41,700 health care workers — are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the bare minimum, any new legislation, including COVID-19 related stimulus packages, should include reprieve from deportation and extensions of DACA and TPS work permits and protection. SAALT is also pushing for state and local leaders to provide free COVID-19 testing and treatment for all, regardless of immigration status.
Please contact Sophia Qureshi at sophia@saalt.org for media requests.