Federal Spotlight: Judge Rules DACA Program Must Accept New Applicants

A U.S. District Court Judge ruled on Wednesday the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program must continue and allow new applicants into the program. This is the third federal judge to rule against the Trump administration on this particular issue. The recent judge’s ruling is the most expansive of the three, as the ruling states the program must accept new applicants whereas the previous rulings simply said the program must accept renewal of benefits requests. The decision has been delayed 90 days to allow the Trump administration to respond.

The DACA program was first established by President Obama in 2012 as a means of allowing children who were brought into the country illegally by their parents to stay in the country. President Trump announced last September that he would end the program in March 2018 if Congress did not act. The courts have so far prevented the Trump administration from cancelling the program. Many in the business community see DACA as a workforce issue and hope Congress will pass a legislative solution.