On Thursday, June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on the consolidated cases regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The 5-4 ruling concludes that the Trump Administration violated the Administrative Procedures Act when terminating the program, and therefore the program remains in effect. The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice Roberts, will impact the lives of nearly 700,000 DACA recipients, many of whom are students, parents, and workers.
FCAAP leadership issued the following statement in support of the ruling: “The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FCAAP) is very excited to announce that the Supreme Court has supported DACA, stopping the Trump Administration from dismantling it. We signed onto the brief requesting this action because we believe that these children deserve a chance to live and thrive here in the United States. It is a great day for DACA citizens, and the FCAAP is grateful to the Supreme Court for this ruling.”
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) had filed an amicus brief in the consolidated DACA cases, alongside the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, the American Academy of Pediatrics, FCAAP, and dozens more children’s advocacy organizations, medical professionals, and child development experts. The brief was co-authored by Persyn Law & Policy and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
As the brief explains, society has a moral imperative to protect children from harm, and the Court must consider the consequences that rescinding DACA would have on the hundreds of thousands of young children whose parents rely on DACA for work authorization and protection from deportation. The brief states: “The imminent threat of losing DACA protection places children at risk of losing parental nurturance, as well as losing income, food security, housing, access to health care, educational opportunities, and the sense of safety and security that is the foundation of healthy child development.”
Click here to read the full CLASP release and amicus brief.
