Expanded DACA dead for now

When President Barack Obama expanded the eligibility of DACA for many more DREAMers, the program was put on hold by a judge after several states sued arguing that he broke US laws.  It turns out that Obama might as well have acted illegally because an appeals court has rejected his argument that the program should be allowed to move forward while the lawsuit makes it way through the courts.  For all practical purposes, what it means is that the expanded DACA will most likely not happen because this case will reach all the way to Supreme Court and that may take several years.  By that Obama will be out of office, or even if he wins, the decision will come towards the end of his presidency.  At that point it may not make any sense to apply since there is no guarantee that the program will be kept by the next president.



Having said that, those who were eligible under the 2012 DACA program are still eligible and can go on with their lives, at least till the next president takes office in January, 2017.  It is hard to predict what will happen but many such programs continue indefinitely and that is what might end up happening in this case as well.  As long as you don't break other laws, you will be able to renew this status.
Another sign of home is that if Hillary Clinton becomes president, then this program will definitely continue and she has even promised citizenship to everyone who comes to America, even illegally.  If Jeb Bush becomes president being the most likely Republican candidate, he too will do the same because his wife is a Mexican and he is very sympathetic towards the undocumented population and is actively seeking their support and votes.  My contacts in the immigration activist groups are also reporting that they are in touch with Mexican drug cartels and gangs who are pumping money into the upcoming elections so that some form of immigration reform will pass.  For the drug cartels, human smuggling is a multi-billion dollar business and they will do whatever it takes to create hopes in Latin America and elsewhere in the world that as long as you can enter the United States illegally, you can legalize.