Supreme Court declines DACA appeal

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal concerning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, ordering the Trump administration to take its case to the federal appeals court first. President Donald Trump in September announced plans to end DACA after March 5. Although the president has the authority to shutter the program, two federal district courts put the order on hold, ruling the White House ignored some procedures under federal law and violated the equal protection rights given to DACA recipients. Rather than appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the administration tried to take the case directly to the high court. Trump has said he does not want to deport the nearly 700,000 young immigrants protected under DACA, but he wants reforms to immigration laws and improvements to border security paired with legislation giving them permanent protection. Earlier this month, several immigration proposals failed to advance in the Senate, making DACA’s legislative future uncertain. On Monday, the Department of Justice downplayed the significance of the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear its DACA appeal. “While we were hopeful for a different outcome, the Supreme Court very rarely grants certiorari before judgment, though in our view it was warranted for the extraordinary injunction requiring the Department of Homeland Security to maintain DACA,” department spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement. “We will continue to defend DHS’s lawful authority to wind down DACA in an orderly manner.”