Programs available to immigrants in the US

It is no secret that one of the main purposes of the Trump administration is to reduce immigration, especially illegal. Thus, the current president and his cabinet have increased surveillance at the borders, hiring thousands of federal agents, who work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Adding to that, to reduce illegal immigration, the Trump administration targeted multiple humanitarian programs and immigration benefits offered to foreigners who managed to cross the borders without legal documentation or prior authorization and are currently residing in the US.

For instance, the Trump government has tried to remove the immigration program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which was implemented by the Barack Obama administration in 2012. This program protects immigrants who came to the US without legal documentation as minors, who are commonly known as Dreamers.

The legal battle around DACA

Since DACA protects more than 600,000 young immigrants, several activist groups and immigrant rights advocates have not allowed the Trump administration to eradicate it from benefits offered to immigrant communities in the US, and have had to file multiple lawsuits for local courts to intervene.

In fact, the controversy and legal battle surrounding DACA was so great that the US Supreme Court of Justice had to intervene and, in June 2020, rejected the Trump administration’s request and protected the Dreamers.

However, the Trump government did not comply with this order and stated that new DACA applications would not be accepted until further notice and existing permits would be renewed only for one year, instead of two, drastically changing parameters initially established by the Obama administration.

After the current administration disobeyed the Supreme Court’s mandate, a New York federal judge intervened in the DACA case again, and ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the program by December 7, 2020. This time, the Trump administration did comply with the judge’s order.

Pending hearing to review DACA’s validity

Although the New York judge ruled in favor of DACA, there was already a hearing scheduled that will take place on December 22, 2020. However, this time is different as the federal court in Houston will not analyze decisions of the Trump administration regarding DACA, but will evaluate whether the program itself is valid as an immigration benefit.

The federal court will review whether the memorandum signed by former President Barack Obama meets the necessary requirements for DACA to be valid and to verify the legality of the immigration program.

It is important to remember that President-elect Joe Biden plans to expand benefits for DACA recipients and prevent future administrations from threatening the program. However, if the Houston court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the Biden administration would not be able to deliver on these promises.

Protect your future and follow legal parameters to migrate

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.