In a decision issued by the Supreme Court on June 18, 2020, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the Trump Administration violated the law when it terminated DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. The decision was based on the Trump Administration’s actions taken in terminating the program, its failure to fully consider the available alternatives to complete termination, and ignoring the reliance interests of many DACA holders who had been promised protection by the US Government.

This decision is an important protection for those who were brought to the United States as children, and who lived their lives here like any child born in the United States, but have no legal options to become residents due to the structure of the immigration laws. While this decision is extremely important in the short term, Congress needs to act to provide a long-term remedy to these individuals so that they can obtain residency and eventually citizenship.