You may remember that several months ago, President Trump issued an order that the DACA (or Dreamer) program, which grants children of illegal immigrants authorization to work in the United States, would end on March 5, 2018. You may have also heard in the news recently that the US Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the President’s DACA order at this time, saying it must first be heard by the circuit appeals court.
What does that mean?
After the President issued the order ending the program, the order was immediately challenged in federal district courts, and two judges issued injunctions putting the order on hold. That meant that Dreamers could still apply for renewals of their DACA work authorizations while the legality of the order was litigated.
The Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the case means that Dreamers will continue to be able to apply for renewals of their work authorizations – most likely well beyond the March 5, 2018 deadline given the glacial pace with which most litigation progresses.
What does this mean for your organization?
It means nothing has changed from where we have been for the last several months. Any current DACA authorizations are still valid, and those employees may continue to apply for renewals if their authorization is expiring. Dreamers cannot be treated differently from other employees in any way, although if a Dreamer’s authorization to work expires without renewal, you would be required to terminate the employee for not having valid work authorization.
We’ll continue to monitor the status of DACA as it moves its way through the court systems. If you have any questions in the meantime, let us know!