Federal Judge Restores Obama-Era DACA Program For Those Illegally Brought to US in Childhood

The Trump administration has been targeting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) since September 2017, focusing on its ‘America First’ policy and rejecting immigration initiatives rolled out by the Obama administration.

US District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis on Friday ruled a full restoration of an Obama-era DACA program that would allow illegal immigrants who arrived to the United States as children to apply for work permits and a two-year period of deferred action for deportation.

The judge also instructed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to open applications for the so-called “dreamers” for the first time since 2017, reversing a memo issued by the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, that restricted the program to only those who had previously enrolled, preventing first-time applicants from participating, and limited benefits provided by the program.

According to the ruling, Wolf was unlawfully installed in his position, indicating that his memo on slicing DACA benefits was invalid.

DACA, created by then-US President Barack Obama in 2012, has been in the Trump administration’s crosshairs since 2017. Trump labeled DACA as “unconstitutional” and unsuccessfully sought to put an end to it through the use of the Supreme Court. SCOTUS ruled in June that Trump did not follow the necessary procedures.

In July, the Trump administration vowed to continue targeting the program. Now that US mainstream media have projected Joe Biden to win the Oval Office, the Democratic challenger said he would restore DACA once he assumed office. The official US presidential election results will be announced after the Electoral College casts its vote on 14 December.

Sourse: sputniknews.com