A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration must resume a program that protects from deportation young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.
The judge also ruled that the U.S. must also accept new applications for the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
However, U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington stayed his order Friday, giving the government until August 23 to decide if it wants to appeal his ruling.
In April Bates gave the government 90 days to present an argument for ending DACA.
The judge said Friday, in a 25 page ruling, that the government’s presentation failed to change his mind.
In his April decision, Bates called the government’s reasoning for ending the program “arbitrary and capricious.” He said it failed to “adequately explain its conclusion that the program is unlawful.”
Federal courts in New York and California earlier this year ordered DACA to continue to process renewals, but not did not require the government to accept new applications.
DACA provides temporary work and study permits to about 700,000 young immigrants, sometimes referred to as “Dreamers.” For the majority of these immigrants, the U.S. is the only home they have known. They are taxpayers, business owners, have families, are college graduates, and have served in the military.
FWD.us, a bipartisan organization of leaders in the tech and business community, said Friday in a statement: “These young Americans should be able to plan their lives and continue their tremendous contributions to America rather than being forced to live in uncertainty from court decision to court decision.”
DACA was created in 2012 under the administration of President Barack Obama.
