Early Christmas Present for Dreamers
Last updated 12/9/2020 at 10:23am
On Dec. 2, a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to fully restore the Dreamers program that protects undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn, New York, also directed the Department of Homeland Security to post a public notice that it will accept petitions for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which hasn’t accepted new applicants since 2017.
The new ruling restores the Obama-era program and also mandates that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) post a public notice by Monday Dec. 7, saying, “DHS is DIRECTED to post a public notice, within three calendar days of this Order, to be displayed prominently on its website and on the websites of all other relevant agencies, that it is accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under DACA, renewal requests, and advance parole requests, based on the terms of the DACA program prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with this court’s Memorandum & Order of November 14, 2020.”
It will mark the first time since 2017 that the government has admitted new immigrants into the program.
Approved applicants will also receive two-year work permits under the ruling, as opposed to the one-year permits the administration had proposed.
