The Trump administration announced Friday night that all new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will be marked as “pending” as officials reflect on another attempt to dismiss the program.
The announcement came during a telephone hearing in federal court in Maryland, according to The Associated Press, who was on the call.
The administration tried to repeal the Obama-era program, although the Supreme Court reversed the measure last month, saying it was wrongly ended. He opened the door to a future repeal, saying that the administration only had to dispose of the program properly.
Immigration activists have said the government should continue to accept new DACA applications in light of the ruling. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had only approved renewal applications for DACA beneficiaries who were already enrolled prior to September 5, 2017.
Government attorney Stephen Michael Pezzi said the agency is accepting new applications, but only on a provisional basis, as the administration decides if it wants to continue what is likely to be another contentious effort to repeal DACA. Judge Paul Grimm did not consider whether the government should accept or reject new requests, as he reflects on his next move, although he gave the administration 30 days to update its website with a new orientation.
The DACA program, in which some 650,000 people are currently enrolled, protects undocumented immigrants who were illegally brought into the country as minors from deportation.
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