The Supreme Court has narrowly blocked the Trump administration’s bid to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Obama-era policy protects hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation and allows them to work legally.
While the Trump administration is undisputedly authorized to rescind the DACA program, the justices ruled 5-4 that the administration had failed to follow proper procedure and violated the Administrative Procedure Act in its attempt to end the program. Chief Justice John Roberts, who broke with his conservative colleagues, wrote in the majority opinion that the administration did not provide an adequate explanation for ending the program.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said his department will continue to process renewals for current DACA recipients while the Trump administration considers a new legal strategy for ending the program. However, it’s still unclear whether DHS will start processing new applications.
There are more legal battles ahead. A pending lawsuit by a group of red states argues former President Barack Obama overstepped his constitutional authority in creating DACA and could end the program.