The Supreme Court on Monday declined the Trump administration's request to conduct an expedited review of a district court judge’s ruling requiring that renewals for participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program be resumed. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Supreme Court rejects Trump request to weigh in quickly on Dreamers The justices' decision reduces the urgency of the drive in Congress to craft a legislative fix for DACA.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the administration's request to speed up the legal fight over protections for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, after President Donald Trump decided last year to end the program.

The Justice Department had asked the justices to skip the usual appeals court process and review a district court judge’s ruling requiring the administration to resume renewals of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.


The Supreme Court declined the request Monday with no justices dissenting. The high court could still weigh in later, but the move suggests the justices want to allow one or more appeals courts to take up the question before considering it.

The justices added that they expect the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to act “expeditiously” to decide the case.

White House and Justice Department spokespeople said the administration will continue to defend the termination of the DACA program.

“The DACA program — which provides work permits and myriad government benefits to illegal immigrants en masse — is clearly unlawful," White House spokesman Raj Shah said.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, whose state is a party to one of the lawsuits over the program's wind-down, said the request to bypass the appeals courts was "unusual and unnecessary."

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“We look forward to explaining to the Ninth Circuit court that DACA is fully legal,"he said.

The justices’ action is a mixed bag for the immigrants known as Dreamers. It means that as the legal process grinds on in federal courts, people who received work permits and protection from deportation through DACA will likely be able to keep renewing their participation. The work permits, which grant legal work authority in the U.S., are good for two years.

However, the high court’s decision to pass up the issue for now reduces the urgency of the drive in Congress to craft a legislative solution to the problem. That effort appeared to result in stalemate earlier this month after three different proposals failed to advance in the Senate.

The Trump administration announced in September that it was ending the program that provided quasi-legal status and work permits to about 800,000 people, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or overstayed their visas.

The White House said that President Barack Obama exceeded his legal authority in establishing the program and that it was vulnerable to being abruptly shut down after Republican state attorneys general threatened to challenge it in court.

Trump agreed to allow DACA recipients with permits expiring through March 5 to renew them for an additional two years, but permits expiring after that date would not be renewable, ending those individuals’ right to work legally in the U.S. and making them more vulnerable to deportation.

Last month, a federal judge in San Francisco issued a nationwide preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to resume DACA renewals. The judge said the administration’s stated concern that the program was illegal appeared to be based on flawed legal reasoning.

The administration could have sought an immediate stay of that ruling to proceed with the wind-down on the president’s schedule. However, Justice Department lawyers passed up that opportunity.

This month, a federal judge in New York issued a second preliminary injunction requiring the administration to keep renewing permits.

Despite the court rulings largely nullifying the March 5 deadline, Trump has repeatedly called attention to it in recent weeks. But the administration has taken a hard line in immigration talks, insisting that any path to citizenship for Dreamers be linked to increased border security and a dramatic shift in the nation’s policies toward legal immigration.

The legislation the White House backed garnered just 39 votes in the recent Senate debate — not nearly enough to move forward.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) plans to press for a vote in the Senate this week on a short-term fix for DACA enrollees that would extend their protections for three years in exchange for $7.6 billion in border-security funding over the same period. But he'll need unanimous consent to proceed, a hurdle he acknowledged could stymie the effort.

A trio of Senate Republicans is also crafting a narrow immigration bill that would permanently extend DACA protections and provide $25 billion for border security. The proposal is more likely to win support from the White House but could face opposition from Democrats since it wouldn't offer Dreamers a path to citizenship.

Trump’s own intentions on the issue have remained murky. He has told Dreamers “not to worry” about deportation and has suggested that if Congress fails to act, he might step in to provide relief.

In recent days, Trump has taken to taunting Democrats, claiming they lost interest in the issue. He also seems to be trying to drive a wedge between Democrats and the immigrant communities with the most at stake.

“Dems are no longer talking DACA!” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “’Out of sight, out of mind,’ they say. DACA beneficiaries should not be happy. Nancy Pelosi truly doesn’t care about them. Republicans stand ready to make a deal!”