Dear Sisters, Associates and Colleagues,
For the past several weeks, we have been waiting for a ruling by the Supreme Court regarding President Trump’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals ( DACA) decision. As you will remember, the DACA decision, originally made by President Obama, has functioned to prevent the deportation of immigrants who arrived as children in the United States. The majority of DACA recipients have been living and working in the United States for one or more decades. Today, as many as 30,000 DACA recipients are front-line health workers. Hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients are working in essential services in efforts to defeat the coronavirus.
This morning, the Supreme Court delayed their decision on DACA, and granted a motion by the plaintiffs in this case, Wolf v. Batalla Vidal, to consider how the pandemic has changed the circumstances in which the deportation decision by the President was made. Therefore, the Court will consider this new additional information as they consider the case. It is noteworthy that the Trump administration has had 10 days to respond to the supplemental brief. They have chosen not to respond.
This does NOT mean there is a decision on the DACA case. This is simply a “yes” indicating that the Court will accept the supplemental brief arguing that DACA recipients are significant workers in our efforts to defeat the coronavirus.
Supplemental briefs following oral arguments are very unusual, but these trying times call for extraordinary measures. In this context, it is appropriate for the plaintiffs to ask the Supreme Court to consider the real-world consequences of the COVID-19 global health crisis as they decide on President Trump’s recent acknowledgments that the U.S. government would move forward with deporting DACA recipients.
We have learned that the Supreme Court is handing down decisions on Mondays and Thursdays as they approach the end of their current term. We will keep you posted on the outcome of this pending decision.
In the meantime, I encourage you to join with others across the country who are praying this prayer (below) for DACA recipients
Arlene Flaherty OP, D.Min., Director
Department of Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation
God of Mercy and Compassion
We pray for DACA recipients, for their protection, their dignity, their hope.
We pray for their families, who struggle with uncertainty and fear.
We pray for ourselves that we may act with understanding, compassion and justice.
Help us to listen to the voices of all of our sisters and brothers with respect and understanding
because we know we are all one in you, our loving God.
We pray especially in these days for the Justices of the Supreme Court
That they will be guided by the Spirit of Wisdom
as they deliberate the future of DACA.
Amen.
