Supreme Court may hold future of DACA in its hands

The upcoming DACA Supreme Court Decision may determine the fates of millions of immigrants. Many people in Florida may well know someone who has come to the United States from another country. Whether from Cuba, Guatemala, Italy, Iran, China, or some other country, countless immigrants have established businesses, raised their children, attended college and more in their new homeland. Some of these people entered the U.S. as children, brought here by their parents. A program initiated in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, gave as many as 700,000 of these people the legal right to stay, study and work in the U.S. 

Today, NPR explains that the future of DACA remains unknown based on a ruling to be handed down by the Supreme Court in 2020. The high court agreed to review the matter after the current presidential administration attempted to cancel it altogether, citing it as illegal and in violation of the U.S. Constitution. 

According to NBC News, a person may not necessarily be immediately deported if the Supreme Court sides with the federal government. For starters, every person’s application extends for a period of 24 months, after which they may apply for an additional two-year period. Removal efforts may be initiated as a person’s DACA status expires, so these efforts would come in waves. Individuals may apply for an appeal of the decision in their case and would have the right to stay in the country until their matter has been heard. 

Between Q4 of 2019 and the end of Q2 of 2020, the date by which the Supreme Court’s decision is expected, more than 230,000 DACA applications are set to expire. To date, at least one-third of those people have already applied for a renewal.