On August 3, 2018, the US District Judge for District of Columbia, John D. Bates, ruled that the Trump administration must fully restore the DACA program. In the decision, the court stated, “The Court therefore reaffirms its conclusion that DACA’s rescission was unlawful and must be set aside.” In addition, the court also denied the government’s motion to reconsider, stating that “The Court has already once given DHS the opportunity to remedy these deficiencies—either by providing a coherent explanation of its legal opinion or by reissuing its decision for bona fide policy reasons that would preclude judicial review—so it will not do so again.” However, the judge delayed the order until August 23, 2018 to allow the government to determine whether it will appeal the court’s decision.
The August 3rd decision will not make any new changes to the DACA program. It is still being implemented on the terms of the prior court rulings. USCIS is still accepting and processing DACA Renewal applications who have previously been approved for DACA as a result of the two nationwide injunctions issued in California and New York earlier this year. USCIS is still not accepting the new or initial applications for the first time.
Considering the pending litigation, the American Immigration Lawyer Association recommends the eligible DACA recipients who would like to renew their DACA to consult with an attorney and submit their DACA renewal application as soon as possible.
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