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South Asians welcome Supreme Court's decision to protect Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)


Picture Courtesy: The Hill
Washington, Jun 19 (PTI) South Asian groups in the US have welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to temporarily protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that prevents deportation of people who entered the country illegally as children, many of whom are Indians.

The US Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump's effort to end legal protections for nearly 700,000 young immigrants, a stunning rebuke to him in the midst of his re-election campaign.

Describing this as a major victory, South Asian Americans Leading Together or SAALT said that this is temporary because it still gives the administration an opportunity to terminate the program again on legal grounds.

"Although it is conditional, today's victory is welcome at a time when the war on Black communities feels endless," said Lakshmi Sridaran, SAALT's executive director.

The DACA program created by President Barack Obama in 2012 prevents deportation of people who arrived in the US as minors.

The policy was rescinded by President Trump in September but has given the Congress to come out with a policy in six months'' time on the fate of nearly 700,000 individuals, many of whom are Indian or South Asian descent.

"It is a reminder that our work is not done, but together we can win. We have to keep demanding solutions that benefit us all - including pushing for a permanent, legislative solution that ensures a path to citizenship for all immigrants, defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the police, and investing in communities, which are pillars of the Movement for Black Lives policy agenda," she said.

SAALT said that the decision means that hundreds of thousands of young people, including over 4,000 South Asian DACA recipients, can continue to live, work, and study in the US without fear of deportation.

"Until the Trump administration responds, people can continue to renew applications for DACA and will soon be able to submit new applications," SAALT said. In a statement, North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) hailed the US Supreme Court decision regarding blocking an attempt by the Trump administration to end legal protections for over 650,000 young immigrants, known as DACA program.

"Court's decision is being welcomed in the immigrant's community throughout the United States and is seen as a blow to a central campaign promise from Trump and a likely topic for the 2020 presidential election," NAPA executive director Satnam Singh Chahal said.

SAALT joins immigrant justice groups across the country in advocating that Members of Congress pass a permanent solution that helps rather than harms immigrants and communities of color, SAALT said in a statement.

More than 200,000 DACA essential workers -- including 41,700 health care workers -- are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the bare minimum, any new legislation, including COVID-19 related stimulus packages, should include reprieve from deportation and extensions of DACA and TPS work permits and protection, the statement said.

In the 5-4-court decision on DACA on Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the government failed to give an adequate justification for ending the federal program, the NBC News reported.

The administration could again try to shut it down by offering a more detailed explanation for its action, but the White House might not want to end such a popular program in the heat of a presidential campaign.

The court's decision does not prevent the Trump administration from working to rescind the DACA program in the future, meaning the fate of the deportation reprieve could be decided by voters in the November general election, The Hill reported.

Moments after the decision came down, Trump lashed out at the court.

The president later tweeted, "These horrible and politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives," and asked, "Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn't like me?"

He also said recent court decisions showed the need for new justices, adding that he would release a list of potential nominees by September 1.

However, the decision was widely met with praise from various Democratic lawmakers, business leaders, immigrants and advocacy groups, the NBC news reported. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called the ruling a victory that was "made possible by the courage and resilience of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who bravely stood up and refused to be ignored," it said. Biden, vowed, if elected, to "immediately work to make it permanent by sending a bill to Congress on Day One of my administration."

Apple CEO Tim Cook also lauded the decision, tweeting, "We're glad for today's decision and will keep fighting until DACA's protections are permanent."

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Disclaimer: - This story has not been edited by IPM and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI