On Friday, federal judge Nicholas Garaufis of the US District Court in Brooklyn ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that protects immigrants brought to the US as children from being deported.
Garaufis instructed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to post a public notice by Monday saying they will be accepting new DACA applicants.
The ruling overturns July’s memo from DHS head Chad Wolf announcing new applications for the Obama-era program would no longer be accepted.
In November, judge Garaufis ruled that Wolf didn’t have the legal authority to make that decision.
“DHS is directed to post a public notice, within three calendar days of this Order, to be displayed prominently on its website and on the websites of all other relevant agencies, that it is accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under DACA, renewal requests, and advance parole requests, based on the terms of the DACA program prior to Sept. 5, 2017, and in accordance with this court’s Memorandum and Order of Nov. 14, 2020.”
US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis
Judge Nicholas Garaufis’ latest order builds on his November ruling where he found that Chad Wolf was not legally serving as acting Homeland Security secretary when he signed rules limiting applications and renewals for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.