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Following federal court ruling, Trump administration resumes accepting DACA renewals

"Until further notice."

People who call themselves Dreamers, protest in front of the Senate side of the US Capitol to urge Congress in passing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, on December 6, 2017 in Washington, DC.  (CREDIT: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
People who call themselves Dreamers, protest in front of the Senate side of the US Capitol to urge Congress in passing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, on December 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. (CREDIT: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency announced Saturday that it would accept renewal applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, following San Francisco’s federal court ruling last week that blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to end the program.

USCIS said in a statement on its website, “Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in this guidance, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017.”

Last September, President Donald Trump announced his intention to phase out the Obama-era program, which has provided temporary deportation relief and work authorization in two-year increments to certain qualified immigrants brought to the country as children. The Trump administration allowed one final two-year extension for applicants whose DACA status expires before March 2018.

The task of creating permanent legislation for DACA beneficiaries was then punted to Congress, which may act on a DACA deal through a must-pass spending bill to prevent a government shutdown by January 19. So far, a deal has not been reached. Trump took to Twitter Sunday morning and blamed the Democrats for lack of action, reiterating his claim a government shutdown would hurt the military — which isn’t true.

Since Trump ended the DACA program, an average of 122 people have lost their DACA statuses.

San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge William Alsup temporarily blocked Trump’s move to end the program on Tuesday, but the limited ruling allows the administration to continue to block new applications by eligible immigrants who have never applied for the program before.

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As ThinkProgress’ Ian Millhiser previously reported, while Alsup’s decision deals a blow to the Trump administration’s plans to end DACA, it could make things worse for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who rely on the program by centering the case on DACA’s legality.