The US Supreme Court recently struck down Trump’s efforts to put an end to DACA protections. 

In his opinion, Justice John Roberts rejected the end of DACA primarily on procedural grounds. That is, the court seemed to take more issue with how the Trump administration was attempting to end DACA than with DACA itself. 

“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies. The wisdom of those decisions is none of our concern. Here we address only whether the Administration complied with the procedural requirements in the law that insist on a ‘reasoned explanation for its action.'” 

That means the administration still has plenty of avenues for cancelling DACA if they want to. Whether they will is another matter, but it seems wise to plan for the worst. They won’t have a lot of time before the next election, but Trump could still win in November.

Thus, anyone protected by the DACA program should be thinking about using this reprieve to look for alternative paths to citizenship. Now is the time to meet with your immigration attorney. You can’t apply for a green card on the basis of having DACA, but in some cases there are other solutions. If you are the relative of a US citizen or have married one then you may be able to move forward. This would require an adjustment of status, which you are eligible for if you acquired DACA status prior to the age of 18 and have continued to keep your status current, ensuring you didn’t accumulate “unlawful presence” days.

You should also continue to apply for renewals. The last thing you want to do is lose the protection because you didn’t follow the legal procedures that let you receive it. 

This may also be a good time to apply for DACA protection if you are eligible but have not yet been included in the program. That would be the first step if you are currently undocumented. 

Justice Sotomayer added that she would have allowed litigants to return to lower courts to make the case that rescinding DACA amounted to unconstitutional discrimination. 

It’s worth noting that other legal decisions do remove some discriminations. Recent class action decisions have made it illegal for banks and lenders to discriminate against DACA recipients and other noncitizens when they apply for student loans, credit cards, home mortgages, or small business loans. 

DACA is a maze, and you’ll need help navigating it. Contact the Law Office of John J. Hykel today to get the help you need. 

See also:

Immigration & Citizenship

Family Immigration

Deportation and Removal Defenses