Is DACA safe until the elections?

In the early morning of June 18 “dreamers” woke up to the news they’ve been waiting for since last year. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of DACA staying, citing that the Trump administration did not take all the necessary steps to remove the program. Though the anxiety and fear may have eased, this does not mean the program is forever. DACA can still be challenged and taken away if the decision is correctly appealed by the administration.

“This is just the battle—the war is not over,” stated local Reno attorney, Kyle Edgerton, in the interview with LiveFEED. 

Edgerton has worked with immigration cases for the past ten years. The decision did not come as a surprise for him.

“I would put the money on the Supreme Court probably saying that the Trump administration didn’t jump through enough hoops — that’s both for legal and political reasons,” predicted Edgerton.

Why did DACA go to court?

In September of 2017, the Trump administration challenged the DACA program, stating the program was not legitimate.

“What the Trump administration did was say, ‘Our hands are tied. This program is illegal. It could have never been enforced in the first place. Therefore, we must repeal it because it was illegal to begin with,” said Edgerton.

For months after, many DACA recipients lived in fear, wondering what would happen to their status.
We talked to Stephanie Sevilla, who is currently majoring in law at a university in Hawaii.

“When we filled out this application—we gave the government everything about us, where we work, where we live. We put our trust in this government to protect us,” she said. 

For Sevilla, the termination of DACA would have meant losing her dream. A dream to become a lawyer, helping people with similar situations as her. “I wanted to be able to help people that were just like me in my situation in the future. To use the law to help create a better place for DACA recipients, and those that didn’t qualify for DACA.”

Why did the court rule the way they did?

Edgerton’s reasoning is that election year is too close, and this administration is coming to an end. Edgerton cites that it would be more politically sound to push the program until after elections.

“We’re close to an election. This is a highly hot button issue, and the politically popular thing would be to leave the program until the next administration.”

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