This Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear arguments in U.S. v. Texas, the case that will determine the legality of President Obama’s #DAPA and #DACA programs.
Tens of thousands of CASA members are among the millions across the country who would qualify for administrative relief – lives free of the fear of deportation – if #DAPA and #DACA move forward. The court will likely hear the case in April, and a ruling is expected in June.
The decision to grant cert may be just a middle step in the battle for our families, but it is important to take a few minutes to remember the fierce warriors who have gotten us this far. Maya from New Carrolton and Isabel from Owings Mills, Sandra from York and Rosario from Gaithersburg, Liliana from Falls Church and Hilda from Stafford. Joined by partners and children and hundreds more, these mothers have led the fight for justice for our families, joining CASA at dozens of actions we first organized at the White House to establish the program then in front of the Supreme Court to encourage the Court to take the case. Complete victory still lies ahead but we have gotten this far through the power and commitment of our members.
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CARECEN Applauds the Supreme Court’s Decision to Review Proposed Deferred Action
Washington, DC – Today, the Supreme Court agreed to review the President’s authority to grant deferred action on deportation under executive actions announced in November 2014. These executive actions would expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and create the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Legal Permanent Residents (DAPA).
Twenty-six states promptly challenged the program’s constitutionality, although there are currently about 500,000 young people who have already been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under the original program. The Fifth Circuit Court upheld an injunction that blocked the implementation of expanded DACA and DAPA, the Obama administration appealed this decision, and now the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal and make a decision on the case.
The proposed expansion of DACA/DAPA to include more foreign-born youth and parents of US citizen and legal permanent resident children would provide protection from deportation and work authorization for 4-5 million individuals currently living in the United States. In the absence of legislative immigration reform, this executive action is a step towards safer, more inclusive communities that recognize the contributions of immigrant families.
“We have cleared a big hurdle, and we are confident that the Supreme Court will side with the Obama administration, ensuring that millions of hard-working families get protection from deportation – and, more than anything, come out of the shadows,” said Abel Nuñez, CARECEN’s Executive Director.
In the meantime, we’d like to caution community members to remain careful of unscrupulous individuals that will take advantage of this announcement and defraud them, putting them at risk for deportation. No decision has been made by the Supreme Court yet; we expect a ruling near the end of June 2016. CARECEN is coordinating with other service providers to provide high- quality legal advice to ensure that qualified all applicants are successful.
