ICYMI: Trump Administration Accepting DACA Renewal Applications Following AG Becerra Securing Nationwide Injunction in Lawsuit to Protect Dreamers

Sunday, January 14, 2018
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

As a result of AG Becerra’s legal challenge on behalf of CA, Trump Administration resumes accepting DACA renewals

SACRAMENTO – Last week, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra – joined by the Attorneys General for Maine, Maryland and Minnesota, as well as the University of California, individual Dreamers and other plaintiffs – obtained a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration over its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). The ruling in the District Court for the Northern District of California blocks the Trump Administration’s rescission of DACA while the underlying case continues. The Court determined that the merits of California’s case are strong, that there would be immediate harm if the Administration’s plan to terminate DACA were to proceed, and that the public interest is served by prohibiting the Administration from ending DACA before the legal issues are ruled on. Attorney General Becerra continues to urge Congress to pass a permanent solution to ensure Dreamers are here to stay.

Yesterday, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) quietly announced that it has resumed accepting requests to renew deferred action under DACA, per court order,  as a result of the preliminary injunction issued in Attorney General Becerra’s lawsuit. For directions on how to apply for renewal, visit: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-response-january-2018-preliminary-injunction

“When we told Dreamers we had their backs, we meant it,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Last night, the Trump Administration quietly began accepting DACA renewals as a result of our efforts in court to do what we said we would: protect those people who have dedicated themselves to success in school, at work and in business, and have contributed in building a better America. We are pleased to see that as a result of our legal action, individuals can now go online immediately to renew their DACA applications.”

In November 2017, Attorney General Becerra filed a motion seeking this preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration over its decision to end DACA. In that motion, Attorney General Becerra set forth the federal government’s violations of the United States Constitution and federal laws designed to ensure that our government treats everyone fairly and transparently.  California and the other plaintiffs in this action have continued to emphasize that terminating the program is causing irreparable harm to DACA recipients as well as to the States and communities in which they live.

In July 2017, Attorney General Becerra led 20 attorneys general in sending a letter to President Trump urging him to maintain and defend DACA. In the letter, the attorneys general explained how DACA has benefited their states and the nation as a whole and called on Trump to fulfill his public commitment to Dreamers, whom he called “incredible kids” who should be treated “with heart.” Roughly a quarter of all DACA grantees, more than 200,000 young people, live in California.  All 20 of the signatories to this letter have since joined lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s rescission of DACA.

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