Supreme Court to hear DACA arguments Tuesday

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on whether the Trump administration’s attempt to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was lawful.

DACA provides temporary protection from deportation and the opportunity to obtain work authorization for roughly 700,000 people who were brought to the United States illegally as children. DACA recipients, immigrants’ rights groups, cities, states and universities have sued to stop the administration’s efforts to end the program. The program has also drawn the support of some of the country’s largest corporations.

“DACA recipients are filling vacancies at companies that otherwise would not be able to attract workers for open positions,” said a friend-of-the-court brief filed by more than 140 trade associations and businesses, including BAL. “They are creating businesses that employ other Americans. And their increased wages lead to higher tax revenues and expansion of our national GDP—producing new jobs and benefits for all Americans.”

The litigation reached the Supreme Court after federal courts ruled against the government, requiring the Department of Homeland Security to continue to renew DACA applications for current recipients while the lawsuits proceeded. The rulings did not require DHS to accept requests from new applicants.

Administration officials have eyed a congressional fix as a solution for the program. In June, the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, but the bill has not gotten a vote in the Senate.

BAL Analysis: The status of the DACA program will remain unchanged at least until the Supreme Court issues a ruling. For now, DHS will be required to renew DACA applications for current recipients, but will not be required to enroll new applicants into the program. Employers should continue to accept valid employment authorization documents from DACA recipients until further notice. BAL will continue to monitor the case before the Supreme Court and other DACA-related developments and will provide updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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