The Supreme Court on Monday denied a Trump administration appeal that sought the swift cancellation of a program protecting undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
The court’s move means the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, will remain in place for the near future while additional legal proceedings and discussions in Congress continue.
.. The decision is likely to take pressure off lawmakers in both parties to act on a legalization program for the DACA population. Many Republicans were reluctant to act from the start, and were being pushed ahead because DACA participants were set to start losing protections in March. Democrats have been frustrated by GOP demands and may want to wait to see if they gain power in Congress after the midterm elections.
“Democrats no longer have the incentive to meet the president’s demands on DACA when they feel a different Congress may be around the corner to resolve this,” said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney and former adviser to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.).
.. The judges said presidents can change policy on issues like immigration but have to do so in a more reasoned and deliberate way. And they said Mr. Sessions wasn’t correct that DACA was an unlawful action by Mr. Obama.