[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]U.S. District Court Judge John Bates ruled last Friday that the Trump administration ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unlawfully.  Judge Bates ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restore the program by August 23rd.  This is the third district court ruling against the Trump administration in how it handled the termination of the DACA program. DACA was implemented under President Obama with the goal of protecting young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally when they were children.  About 800,000 people received DACA benefits before the program was ended last September.  Previous court rulings have allowed DACA recipients to renew their legal status, but have not reopened the program to new applicants. Judge Bates stated that his ruling does not mean that the Trump administration cannot end the DACA program, but that it requires legal justification for doing so.  To date, the justifications used in court to end the program have been considered "arbitrary and capricious."  The government has until August 23 to submit an appeal. See the full news story here. The fight for DACA is not yet over.  Should DACA be fully restored, the Law Offices of Scott Warmuth will be helping eligible young immigrants apply for the program's benefits.  For a free immigration consultation, call our offices today at 888-517-9888.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]