A federal court in Brooklyn has blocked the Trump administration’s termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says the court made clear that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was wrong when he claimed #DACA was illegal and the Justice Department was wrong to claim any court has deemed DACA unconstitutional. Here's Judge Garaufas' decision:
Eliana Fernandez is a named plaintiff in the case, Batalla Vidal v. Nielsen. She says, "The ruling gave hope and showed the Court respects our common humanity. I am a Dreamer and joined this fight for my family. I'm a wife, mother, homeowner, but Trump doesn't want to hear a story like mine." She says, "We still know we need a permanent solution."
The immigration rights group Make The Road New York applauds the decision. They tweeted "It’s HUGE WIN for #Dreamers in Federal Court! We and @NILC_org just won a preliminary injunction blocking #Trump’s racist decision to end #DACA. Renewals must continue nationwide. We will keep fighting in courts, in the streets, and in Congress for #DreamActNow." The Judge's order protects Dreamers currently enrolled in the DACA program but does not extend to new applicants.Meanwhile, Department of Justice spokesperson Devin O’Malley says DACA was an “unlawful circumvention of Congress.” He says the Justice Department is looking forward to the next stage of the litigation. All eyes in the struggle are on Washington to see if Congress can get past divisions and pass a Clean Dream Act.