On June 18 – one month ago – the United States Supreme Court decided that the administration’s decision to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was illegal. Despite this decision, the Department of Homeland Security has refused to accept new applications from DACA recipients and has shared information from DACA applications with the enforcement arm of ICE. 

The Committee, together with Arnold & Porter, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and the Howard University Civil Rights Clinic represents CASA and eight other organizations and sixteen individuals in a challenge to the DACA recession. The Supreme Court decision confirmed our victory in the Fourth Circuit and upon remand to the United States District Court, Judge Paul Grimm entered a permanent injunction barring the United States from implementing the recession or new rules designed to allow information given by DACA applicants to be used in enforcement proceedings.

Pursuant to this decision, DHS should accept new applications and DACA applicants should not fear that by coming forward they are putting a target on their backs. We expect that there will be more struggles ahead to ensure that DACA remains a reality, but this is an important milestone.

Without the extraordinary courage of the many dreamers who we have had the honor to represent, this would not be possible.