Supreme Court rejects Trump administration's plan to end DACA, so they deny new applications

President Donald Trump's administration has had a special interest in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) ever since he assumed office, and has threatened to end the program on multiple occasions, to much backlash. In a recent Supreme Court ruling, the panel of Justices rejected the administration's plan to end the immigration policy, which allows children of immigrants with unlawful presence in the United States to become eligible for a legal work permit. In light of the ruling, the White House has halted new applications for the program as it undergoes a "comprehensive" legal review, NBC News reports. The program would have limited scope while the review is intended to determine its "legality."

As per a senior official within the Trump administration, the White House still views DACA as illegal—regardless of the Supreme Court ruling. The ruling has reportedly left some room for the administration to identify other ways to revoke the policy. The official claimed they would "limit the scope" of the program as it undergoes a review. This means the administration will reject initial requests and application fees for new filings as well as all applications for advance parole (unless there are "extraordinary circumstances"). Furthermore, though it will consider all applications for renewal on a case-by-case basis, renewals will be limited to one year rather than the standard two.

At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the President claimed that the Supreme Court order—which he stated in a tweet was "politically charged"—allegedly gave him "more power," though it is unclear how this is true or how he came to this conclusion. The decision does not extend any additional executive powers to Trump's White House. He stated, "That decision was an interesting decision because it gave the President, as a President, more power than many people thought the President had." He added that his administration still plans to work on an immigration bill, claiming, "We are going to make DACA happy and the DACA people and representatives happy, and we’re also going to end up with a fantastic merit-based immigration system."

Immigration, of course, has been a hot-button issue for Trump. Among his other takedowns of progressive immigration policies, the Obama-era DACA program has been one of the worst-hit. Just last week, The Maryland federal court ordered his administration to restore the policy to its original form, prior to a 2017 memo that called for its end. The state has since then put the program "on hold," not granting or rejecting any new applications. The order essentially directs the Department of Homeland Security to accept new DACA applications. While the Trump administration plans to issue a new memo that will surpass previous memos regarding DACA, they expect more challenges in court over new changes to the program.

In the meantime, presumptive Presidential candidate for the Democratic party Joe Biden has used the recent events to further his progressive stance on immigration. "President Trump will stop at nothing to push his anti-immigrant political agenda, even at the expense of young people who have grown up in this country and are Americans through and through," he said in a statement on Tuesday. "Trump’s actions would upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, and lawyers, among others. It’s wrong, and it’s un-American. The America I know fights for our own and that’s exactly who DACA recipients are—our own."