WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court's rejection prompted California Attorney General Becerra to say that he "looks forward to explaining to the Ninth Circuit court that DACA is fully legal. For the sake of the Dreamers who help make our economy and our state strong, the rescission of DACA should not be allowed to stand.”
In January, Becerra obtained a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration over its decision to end the DACA program. Other plaintiffs in the case include the attorneys general for Maine, Maryland and Minnesota, as well as the University of California, individual Dreamers and other entities.
The ruling in the district court for the Northern District of California blocked Trump’s rescission of DACA while the underlying case continues. The court determined that the merits of California’s case are strong, Becerra said, and would cause immediate harm if the administration’s plan to terminate DACA were to proceed.
The Supreme Court is rejecting the Trump administration's highly unusual bid to get the justices to intervene in the controversy over protections for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants.
The justices on Monday refused to take up the administration's appeal of a lower court order that requires the administration to continue accepting renewal applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. What made the appeal unusual is that the administration sought to bypass the federal appeals court in San Francisco and go directly to the Supreme Court.
In a brief unsigned comment, the justices they assume "the court of appeals will proceed expeditiously to decide this case."
A judge in New York also has ruled in favor of immigrants challenging the end of DACA, and that case is expected to proceed to the federal appeals court in New York.
President Donald Trump had set March 5 as the end date for the DACA program. The court order says applications must be accepted indefinitely. DACA has provided protection from deportation and work permits for about 800,000 young people, many who were brought to the U.S. illegally.
It's unclear how the court's action Monday will affect efforts in Congress to come up with a legislative fix. The Senate recently failed to pass an immigration bill. The Supreme Court rarely hears a case before a lower appeals court has considered it. The fight over whether President Richard Nixon had to turn over the Watergate tapes is one such example.
On January 13, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services quietly announced that it has resumed accepting requests to renew deferred action under DACA, per court order, as a result of the preliminary injunction issued in Becerra’s lawsuit.
Monday's order by the U.S. Supreme Court means the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will review the preliminary injunction first.