We are thrilled to share another victory for DACA recipients in our lawsuit, Batalla Vidal v. Wolf! A federal court rejected the Trump administration’s latest attack.

Here’s the latest:

• • In July, after the Supreme Court ruled in our favor, Chad Wolf, the purported Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, issued a memo which prohibited first-time DACA applications, required application renewals for existing DACA recipients to happen every year instead of every two years, and drastically curtailed the ability of DACA recipients to travel abroad.
  • In August we filed a legal challenge against Wolf’s memo in federal district court. Our lawyers argued that it unlawfully and drastically diminished the program, and that it was issued without legal authority because Wolf had been unlawfully appointed to his role as Acting Secretary.

• The court agreed! The court also certified a nationwide class of approximately one million DACA-eligible individuals across the country and appointed our named plaintiffs as the representatives for the class. This will ensure that all DACA-eligible folks have their voices heard in court!

As Johana Larios, a plaintiff in the case and MRNY member said, “This is an incredible victory for DACA recipients and first-time applicants like me. DACA has opened so many opportunities for hundreds of thousands of youth and now I hope to be able to go through with my application. With DACA I hope to be able to return to school, and feel safe from being separated from my young children.”

Later this week our legal team will return to court to learn the full implications of this decision, and we’ll share updates when we can.

Our hope is that this decision will fully invalidate this latest attack on DACA, requiring the government to process first-time DACA applications, two-year renewals, and advance parole requests.

As we look forward to a Biden administration, we know this victory is just the beginning. Not only must the new administration immediately protect DACA and TPS holders and reverse all of Trump’s nativist polices, but also provide swift relief and a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented families across this country.

That fight continues.

Thank you for your support,