Three weeks after a Supreme Court hearing on termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was created through an executive order by former President Barack Obama, Dreamers in South Florida and all over the country await the court’s decision.
In June 2012, Obama signed an executive order that created DACA. The program shielded individuals, who were brought to the United States before they were 16 years old, from deportation. The program also granted individuals the right to a work permit and a social security number.
However, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration had opted to phase out of the DACA program on Sept. 5, 2017. Shortly after this announcement, the administration was challenged by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, preventing the administration from concluding DACA, arguing that the measure had been “arbitrary and capricious.”
The administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments on Nov. 12, 2019 and is expected to make a decision between January and June of next year. Dreamers fear the program will ultimately be terminated and their future compromised.