Supreme Court rules in favor of DACA

Key Takeaways

On June 18, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot carry out its plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gives certain young undocumented immigrants a two-year period of protection from deportation and allows them to work in the United States. The decision comes almost three-years after DHS announced its decision to rescind the program in September 2017.

Established in 2012 under President Obama, the DACA program requires that an applicant must have arrived in the U.S. before age 16 and lived here before June 15, 2007. Individuals who apply for the program must also fulfill education and criminal record requirements. For example, to be eligible, an individual must currently be enrolled in school, have graduated, or obtained a certificate of completion from high school. In addition, an applicant cannot have been older than 30 when DHS enacted the policy in 2012. In addition, an individual must have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor and not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

In its decision, the Supreme Court stated that the government did not provide adequate justification for ending the federal program. However, under the ruling, DHS still has the ability to end the program by offering a more detailed explanation for its action.

NACo’s Human Services and Education (HSE) Steering Committee adopted a policy resolution at the 2019 Annual Conference to support the DREAM Act or similar legislation. The resolution specifically calls upon Congress and the president to enact legislation, without imposing costs on counties, that would allow certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children to attain legal status if they pass background checks, demonstrate good moral character, and meet education requirements.

Additionally, NACO’s Community, Economic and Workforce Development (CEWD) Steering Committee adopted a policy resolution at the 2019 Annual Conference that urges Congress and the administration to enact legislative and regulatory proposals that provide efficient legal avenues for immigrants to enter the United States and contribute to the workforce and local economies and maintain the area standard industry wages for the local area.

NACo will continue to monitor developments on DACA and the nation’s immigration policy.

Additional Resources on DACA:

• NACo Blog – Administration announces plan to phase out DACA; puts pressure on Congress to act
• NACo Blog – Congress, Administration to weigh DACA program as part of budget negotiations
• NACo Blog – Congress, President clear spending bill to end government shutdown
• County News Article – Supreme Court to examine local government issues