Jayapal Hails Judge’s Decision Requiring Trump Administration to Accept New DACA Applicants

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement in response to the decision by Judge John D. Bates of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia to require the government to resume accepting new applicants to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“I’m thrilled to see Judge Bates uphold the rule of law and force the Trump Administration to resume accepting DACA applications. Donald Trump created this crisis. He single-handedly made DACA recipients deportable and rejected bipartisan proposals that would have helped these young people. Finally, Judge Bates has brought the law, common sense and compassion to bear, and he is righting this wrong.  

“Trump should learn his lessons from the court and stop trying to strip Dreamers of their status. Time and again, courts have determined that the inhumane decision to end DACA was “arbitrary and capricious,” and we will continue to loudly say that immigrants are welcome here. In Congress, we will keep pushing for a clean Dream Act so that these young people – who have only ever known the U.S. as home – will have a permanent solution and the freedom to live without fear.”

Background: In 2017, Donald Trump terminated the DACA program. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting that termination. The case went to the Supreme Court, which sent it back to the Ninth Circuit – effectively stopping President Trump from eliminating DACA until a decision is reached. Today, according to the New York Times, Judge John D. Bates of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia said that the government’s decision to end DACA was predicated on the “virtually unexplained” grounds that the program is “unlawful.”

Issues: Immigration