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Editor’s note: The Supreme Court voted, 5-4, on June 18, 2020 that the Trump administration can’t immediately end the program, also known as DACA. , a Vanderbilt University postdoctoral fellow who studies immigrants, answers four questions about how the decision will affect undocumented students and higher education.

1. What’s DACA, and what did the majority say in its ruling?

President Barack Obama signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive memorandum on to provide with two-year work permits and temporary relief from deportation. Since this program went into effect, approximately , including about with it today. The permits are renewable as long as the DACA program is in place.

Studies have shown that DACA has to complete high school, go to college, attend grad school and get higher-paying jobs.

On Sept. 5, 2017, President Donald Trump declared that his administration would . Subsequently, challenging DACA’s termination. On June 28, 2019 the Supreme Court agreed to consolidate and consider three of these cases.

In this single ruling nearly a year later, a majority of the justices deemed the Trump used in his attempt to end DACA to be “.” They ruled that his administration lacked a clear rationale for ending the DACA program.

2. What does this mean for undocumented students?

This ruling means that undocumented young people who have obtained permission to stay in the country through DACA – often called Dreamers – can keep their DACA benefits – including temporary work permits and relief from deportation. For undocumented students, this means that they can continue to work, stay in school, pursue careers and remain with relatives who live in the United States.

Today, an estimated live in the United States, according to data drawn from the Census Bureau. This number includes about who graduate from high school every year. The most recent estimates indicate that approximately are enrolled in colleges and universities, including some 45,000 pursuing advanced degrees.

The court battle over whether Trump had the power to end also discouraged many undocumented people .

But the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency is from anyone who needs to renew their status or is seeking protection from deportation.

3. How has higher ed dealt with DACA?

Many colleges and universities have special trained to support undocumented students. Some schools are seeking to address issues that prevent them from affording college.

, such as letting undocumented residents pay , giving the undocumented access to and ensuring that undocumented applicants may apply for , can make a big difference.

4. Does this mean undocumented students no longer have to fear deportation?

No. Regardless of their immigration status, undocumented students have to wake up every morning not knowing whether they can stay in this country. Trump and other officials in his administration have signaled that they intend to . For undocumented immigrants, obtaining DACA status has always involved trusting the U.S. government not to deport them when they and officially acknowledged their status.

The precise numbers are unclear, but studies indicate that there are between undocumented people in the United States. Without comprehensive immigration reform, they will continue to live in fear.

I hope that many colleges and universities will keep trying to meet the growing needs of their undocumented students, even if Trump . Some of the ways schools can do that is by paying DACA , providing free on-campus legal aid and offering access to mental health counselors.

The DACA program was always intended as a that might allow young people who arrived in the United States as children the opportunity to stay and build their adult lives here. Eventually, the undocumented – and everyone else in the United States – will need a longer-term solution.

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