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Supreme Court Won't Hear DACA Case Yet

The Justice Department had asked the Supreme Court to review the case before an appeals court had a chance to weigh in.
Posted at 12:53 PM, Feb 26, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court says it won't yet hear the Trump administration's challenge to a lower court ruling that temporarily blocks it from rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA.

Two federal judges have already ruled the administration's decision to repeal DACA was unconstitutional. The Justice Department had asked the Supreme Court to review the case before an appeals court had a chance to weigh in.

The court's decision to not hear the case at this time is both a good and bad thing for DACA recipients.

On the one hand, it will likely allow immigrants known as "Dreamers" to keep renewing their protections from deportation through the DACA program. But on the other, it effectively kicks a final ruling from the highest court in the land further down the road. So lawmakers may have very little urgency to craft a long-term fix.

That's not to say lawmakers have been reportedly closing in on a solution up until this point. Earlier this month, the Senate failed to advance three different immigration bills related to DACA. 

The Supreme Court's decision Monday means that it could still agree to hear the case after it's heard by a lower court. 

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.