The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of the UC system and upheld protections for people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, status.
The Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration had no adequate reason to end the program in a 5-4 decision. The UC system was one of the plaintiffs on the case, and UC President Janet Napolitano and UC Board of Regents chair John Pérez held a press conference Thursday to comment on their win.
The conference began with remarks from Napolitano, who said the decision was a “victory” for both DACA recipients and the UC system itself, which was the first university to sue the current administration for its recession of the program.
“The case was not just a matter of what is legal, but what is right,” Napolitano said during the press conference. “What is consistent with our nation’s values, as well as what is consistent with our nation’s laws.”
Pérez added that he thinks the court’s decision fits with the United States’ history as a nation of immigrants and that the UC system includes thousands of undocumented students.
According to Napolitano, although the court ruled that the termination of the program was improper, the decision leaves open the question of whether or not the administration is be able to terminate the program. According to Napolitano, the process to reattempt to terminate DACA would be lengthy and would likely not happen by November, when Trump is up for reelection.
Napolitano added that the UC system will continue to advocate for its undocumented students.
“We’ll continue to have legal services for our undocumented students,” Napolitano said during the press conference. “They still have special needs, particularly in the current environment, and we want to make sure we are supporting them.”
Pérez added that he thinks the UC system also needs to advocate for people to be allowed to enroll in the DACA program.
The UC system understands the importance of continuing to communicate updated information with both DACA recipients and undocumented students in a timely matter, according to Pérez.