Supreme Court Affirms DACA; Decision Upholds an NAHB-Supported Legal Precedent

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the federal government’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy is subject to judicial review. This means that roughly 700,000 “Dreamers” (undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children and who grew up knowing America as their only home) can continue to reside and work legally in the United States.

This case follows a line of recent opinions where the Supreme Court has held that government actions that impact private interests are eligible for judicial review, and represents an important victory for NAHB members.

In this case, the Supreme Court held that the administration failed to adhere to the Administrative Procedure Act when it sought to rescind the DACA policy. In 2012, the Obama administration, through a memorandum issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, announced its intention to forego deportation proceedings against a class of Dreamers – people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. A number of DACA recipients are involved in the construction industry and DACA recipients also participate in NAHB’s student chapters, especially in California and Texas.

NAHB, with its coalition partners, provided an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, arguing that private entities should be able to challenge federal agency action in court when those actions impact their interests. Without broad-based judicial review, NAHB’s members would be unable to challenge many agency actions that adversely impact them. The brief also explained the importance of the immigrant workforce to the construction industry.

The cases under consideration at the Supreme Court were all in the early stages of litigation, and the high court has now returned those opinions to the lower courts for consideration.

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