Supreme Court Ruling Over DACA Means Good News for Dreamers — For Now

After weeks and months of waiting, it seems that there is some good news for Dreamers: On Monday, the Supreme Court decided not to hear arguments in a California case over President Donald Trump’s March 5th DACA deadline to Congress. The President of the United States, who did away with the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) back in September, has been putting pressure on Congress to figure out what to do with the almost one million people who are brought to the U.S. illegally as children (a.k.a “Dreamers”) and want to stay in the only country they have known as their home. He gave them a March 5th deadline, which was overturned by a California judge earlier this year.

The case then went to the Supreme Court but their decision to not hear arguments means a BIG blow to Trump, since DACA recipients can now continue to renew their applications. Basically, this means that Trump’s March 5th deadline to Congress is meaningless and that the Department of Homeland Security has to continue to accept renewal applications for the approximately 700,000 Dreamers who are currently enrolled in DACA, according to NBC News.

The White House, of course, isn’t happy about the news.

“The fact that this occurs at a time when elected representatives in Congress are actively debating this policy only underscores that the district judge has unwisely intervened in the legislative process,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement. “We look forward to having this case expeditiously heard by the appeals court and, if necessary, the Supreme Court, where we fully expect to prevail.”

According to TIME, there may be bad news that comes with this: Congress may have an even more difficult time coming together on this contentious issue without the pressure of a hard deadline. And this isn’t a permanent hold either, since the Supreme Court ruled that an appeals court needs to first hear the original case, instead of the Trump administration attempting to skip this step and go directly to the Supreme Court, according to NPR.

Still, the news may be good (for now) for DACA recipients who will now have more time to renew their applications. And, tellingly, Dreamers and their supporters are celebrating on Twitter.

BREAKING: Supreme Court denies review of #DACA appeal. Big loss for Trump administration.

That means thousands of Dreamers could potentially keep renewing their status until this case again reaches the high court. That could take up to a year, if not longer.

— Cristian Farias (@cristianafarias) February 26, 2018

Supreme Court just put the brakes on President Trump’s efforts to end #DACA. Dreamers still deserve a permanent solution that lifts the cloud of uncertainty hanging over their futures. Let’s get it done. https://t.co/jrPFj408oo

— Rep. Beto O'Rourke (@RepBetoORourke) February 26, 2018

Great News! The Supreme Court said NO to the Trump admin's request to bypass the appeals courts in California & NY in its efforts to end #DACA. This buys more time but Congress needs to act, especially after Democrats win in 2018!https://t.co/YnRIsT6ZZV

— Steve Westly (@SteveWestly) February 26, 2018

While Supreme Court's decision keeps #DACA alive for now; we need Congress to remove the uncertainty and put these young people on a path toward citizenship.

— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) February 26, 2018

Although the news is mostly happy and hopeful, Congress does still need to find a permanent solution for our Dreamers. Here’s hoping that, even without an impending deadline, they can figure out a good way to keep DACA recipients in the U.S. and put them on a path to citizenship.