DC Latino Caucus Applauds Supreme Court "DREAMers" Decision

Dear friends,

Today is a day for celebration. The Supreme Court delivered a huge victory for Latinos and other immigrants by blocking the Trump Administration's efforts to cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.For two years the President has attempted to undermine and cancel this Obama initiative. Hundreds of thousands of qualifying young immigrants remained in the US under DACA to continue their studies and make important contributions, but they have been under threat of deportation.

The Court found that the Trump Administration provided no good explanation for cancelling the program as required by law, and that instead it acted in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner that did not explore alternatives or consider the costs and burdens of cancellation. In other words, Trump cannot simply cancel a program like DACA that he doesn't like out of spite.

The DACA case is not all good news. It leaves open the possibility of more turmoil for our young immigrants by saying, "We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies. We address only whether [the government] complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action." The Court leaves open the door for Trump to try to cancel the program again by running some sham process to try to come to the same conclusion.

Trump has clearly been knocked back on his heels with this Supreme Court ruling as well as the one earlier this week providing protection against employment discrimination for LGBTQ people. But we know he's not done and he will try again.

That is why our community, and the DC Latino Caucus, cannot rest until DACA opponents are voted out of office in November. We will continue this fight every day to ensure that our young "DREAMers" are protected and can continue living in our great country.

Regards,

The DC Latino Caucus Board