A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program Friday and accept new applicants for the first time since 2017, accordingto media reports.
A judge with the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn told the Department of Homeland Security to post a public notice by Monday that states they will accept DACA petitions from immigrants who qualify and are not currently enrolled.
The judge also instructed DHS officials to grant approved applicants work permits that last two years, and not the one year limit the Trump administration had proposed, according to CBS News.
"DHS is DIRECTED to post a public notice, within 3 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," the judge wrote.
The Trump administration tried to end DACA in 2017, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him in June 2020. Wolf issued a memo in July saying that new applications for DACA would not be accepted and renewals would be limited to one year. The memo essentially suspended the program.
Friday’s order follows a ruling in November from the same judge that found acting DHS secretary Chad Wolf did not have the legal authority to close DACA to new applicants, shorten the period for work permits or change protections from deportations.
The judge ruled at the time Wolf’s appointment to his position violated the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In his ruling, the judge wrote DHS failed to follow an order of succession established when then-Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April 2019.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office determined in August that Wolf’s appointment was invalid.
