Breaking News from SCOTUS on DACA

The following was authored by Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum.

BREAKING – Supreme Court denies cert. Their morning announcement, “DEPT. OF HOMELAND SEC., ET AL. V. REGENTS OF UNIV. OF CA, ET AL. The petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment is denied without prejudice. It is assumed that the Court of Appeals will proceed expeditiously to decide this case.” Injunction remains in place, DACA renewal applications continue.

SHORT TERM FIX – Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) are in talks about a plan to tie a three-year extension of protections for Dreamers with roughly $7.6 billion in border security. While not ideal, “senators appeared increasingly resigned to any potential immigration legislation being a stopgap patch, rather than a permanent fix, after months of closed-door negotiations failed to produce a deal.”

PROTECTION – The Houston Chronicle reports that a growing number of Christian leaders are stepping up to protect those facing the prospects of deportation. In recent years, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin has provided sanctuary – some immigrants at St. Andrew’s “sleep on bunk beds in a room in the east wing of the house of worship, where church members have been trained to form a human barrier should immigration agents show up.” An estimated 800 churches nationwide offer protections to immigrants at risk of deportation.

CALIFORNIA – Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s warning that ICE agents were preparing to conduct a major enforcement operation in the Bay Area “heightened the tension between federal and local authorities over California’s limited cooperation and deportation efforts.” While numerous people were detained by ICE in the region on Sunday, it was unclear if those actions were part of a broader sweep. Remember in mid-January, it was reported that ICE officials were preparing a big Northern California operation to “send a message” that immigration policy would be enforced in a so-called “sanctuary state.” And, last week President Trump threatened to pull ICE and CBP resources from California. The state’s employers are increasingly worried about their own survival as immigration enforcement picks up.

DALCA – ICYMI: Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is pushing to protect Deferred Action for Legal Childhood Arrivals (DALCA), a situation that’s facing many youth. In short, when H-1B visa holders have to wait decades to receive a green card, their children can lose legal status when they turn 21, and are not covered by DACA or a possible Dream Act. In essence, they age out of protection. While much of the attention these days is on Dreamers who came into the country illegally as children, “those who came here legally by following the laws will be subject to deportation.”