The move would also benefit about 5,500 Indian recipients of DACA.
Friday would be remembered as a big day for thousands of DACA beneficiaries in the United States, as a federal court stated that President Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was unlawful. The court said the administration did not adequately explain the decision to rescind the program.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia also said in a 2-1 decision that the administration’s termination of the program was “arbitrary and capricious.”
The court ruled that administration officials violated the federal law by not explaining its decision to rescind DACA. The ruling comes as an encouragement for DACA recipients even as the legal battle over its termination continues.
It is estimated that about 800,000 young immigrants in the United States are on DACA. While thousands will feel the reprieve as they benefit from the Obama-era amnesty program, the ruling also brings good news for Indians on DACA.
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While a majority of DACA recipients are from Mexico, thousands of Indians, too, are a part of the program. According to advocacy group South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), India is among the top ten countries for DACA eligibility.
According to SAALT estimates, more than 20,000 Indians may have arrived in the US illegally as children. The SAALT report stated that over 27,000 South Asian Americans, including 5,500 Indians and 2,800 Pakistanis, are DACA recipients. It said that an additional approximately 17,000 individuals from India and 6,000 from Pakistan are respectively eligible for DACA.
The move would come as a welcome sign for Indian DACA kids, as many of them have gone to achieve extraordinary academic excellence. Most South Asian DACA recipients are visa overstays, who stayed back to escape religious persecution or for better economic opportunities.