Supreme Court won't hear DACA case this year

THE THOUSANDS of young immigrants taking part in the Obama-era program that shields them from deportation can breathe a little easier for at least another year.

When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday (Jan. 22) not to take on the Trump administration's request to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, it means that DACA will remain in place for the nearly 800,000 participants who were brought into the U.S. illegally by their parents.

The Obama administration created the DACA program in 2012 to provide work permits and protection from deportation to people who, in many cases, have no memory of any home other than the United States.

Of the 1.2 million immigrants who were eligible for DACA, 120,000 were Asian. These immigrants are from all parts of Asia, with significant numbers from Korea, China, and India.

Though Asians account for a significant and growing population of undocumented immigrants in the United States, they had some of the lowest application rates to DACA. According to the Migration Policy Institute, only about 20% of the eligible Korean population applied, and only 23% of eligible Filipinos and 20% of eligible Indians applied. But 82% of eligible Mexicans applied.

DACA participants would not be in this legal imbo if Donald Trump hadn't decided to end the program created by President Barack Obama. He didn't give a reason for ending the program in early 2018. 

Since then, the courts have ruled his edict illegal and kept the program in place. The Trump administration has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the lower court rulings.

The earliest the justices could consider the case would be in its next term which starts in October. The High Court would then take months before it could render a decision.

Until then, DACA participants whose applications are due to expire are being allowed to renew.

On another front, Trump is using the DACA program as a bargaining chip in his attempts to build his Damn Wall on the border with Mexico. He has offered to extend DACA another three years if the Democrats would approve $5 billion for his wall.

Democrats have rejected his so-called compromise so Trump is continuing to refuse to approve funding to keep the government operating. About 800,000 fedral employees have not been paid for over a month. Most have been furloughed but about half are being asked to work for no pay.

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