Today June 23 The Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal’s injunction which blocks the Obama administration’s DAPA and expanded DACA programs. In November 2014 President Obama announced a new program to allow deferred action for certain parents of children who are U.S. citizens or green card holders. In February 2015, just before DAPA was due to begin, a federal judge in Texas granted an injunction to temporarily stop the program, until the case against the government could be decided. This was later upheld by the appeals court. Because the Supreme Court tied, the lower court’s decision stands. This is not a final decision on the merits of the case, but it means the program can’t proceed at this time. The Supreme Court gave no reasons for its ruling.
Deferred action doesn’t grant a green card but it would protect parents from deportation for a temporary period of time and let them apply for work permits. Currently families can be suddenly separated – citizen children remain, their parents are deported. Read the story of Diane Guerrero, an actress on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black.” At 14, she came home from school and her parents were gone. Read our previous blog post for more information on the case.
