University of California praises DACA ruling

A number of schools within the University of California system are praising a federal court ruling that ordered President Donald Trump and his administration to fully restore the DACA program. 

According to the New York Times, U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis ordered that the Trump administration fully restore the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows hundreds of thousands of young Americans born overseas but brought to the U.S. at a young age to remain in the country legally. 

Following the decision, several universities within the University of California system praised the ruling.

[RELATED: Berkeley backs illegal students as SCOTUS hears DACA arguments]

On December 4, Garaufis ordered the Trump administration to allow more illegal immigrants to request legal status. Since the decision, schools across the United States have offered their opinions on the decision.

University of California System President Michael Drake and Board of Regents Chair John A. Pérez praised the decision, calling it “a win.” The latest decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision in June that stated Trump’s blockage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) was unconstitutional. 

That decision came about as a result of a legal challenge brought by the University of California against the Trump administration. At the time the lawsuit was filed, the UC system president was Janet Napolitano, who served as former President Barack Obama’s Homeland Security Secretary. 

UC-Davis Chancellor Gary S. May, praised Garaufis’s decision, writing in a statement that “while this decision is a great step forward, a permanent solution for DACA, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and many other undocumented immigrant students is needed, including a path to citizenship.” 

[RELATED: UC Berkeley allocating up to $800k for ‘undocumented’ students]

”Undocumented immigrant students must have access to the basic and human rights afforded to U.S. citizens,” May added.

UC-Berkeley Senior Director of Strategic Communications Janet Gilmore told Campus Reform that more students will now be given the opportunity to enroll in the DACA program at UC Berkeley. 

“Many students who were not previously afforded the opportunity to apply for DACA will be doing so, and others will need to re-apply. Our Undocumented Students Program is here to offer assistance and support to these students,” Gilmore said. 

Follow the author of this article: Ethan Khaldarov