Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- In a 60-page ruling, a D.C. judge said the Department of Homeland Security had failed to explain its conclusion that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unlawful.
The court is giving the administration 90 days to challenge the ruling before reinstating DACA in its entirety.
This leaves a glimmer of hope for local DACA recipients, known as Dreamers, who sat down with News 19 Wednesday evening before a bi-weekly meeting at the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center.
"I consider myself a South Carolinian because I've lived here all my life," said Dreamer, Jose Herrera. "I'm from Mexico and I've been living in Newberry, South Carolina all my life."
Herrera is 1 of 6,400 DACA recipients in the Palmetto State caught in the political crossfire.
DACA allows immigrants brought into the United States illegally as children to stay and work legally under renewable permits.
Their lives, and in many cases their education, rest in the hands of lawmakers.
"With DACA, deferred action is only a two-year work permit," said Herrera. "We need something more concrete, something that's there that says you're gonna go this route to get to our main goal which is citizenship."
President Trump announced last year he would end the program started by President Obama.
Then, Tuesday, U.S. Federal Judge John D. Bates gave the Department of Homeland Security 90 days to "...better explain its view that DACA is unlawful". He added that the "...legal judgment was virtually explained...and it cannot support the agency's decision".
"Look, we've been very clear – we think it's an illegal program but that's something that the department of justice is gonna have to handle and I'd refer you to them on a specific response of what they're – what that's gonna look like," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.
DACA was officially rescinded in March, but DHS is continuing to issue renewals because of previous court orders.
"I think there's a lot of hope in the community right now," said Dreamer, Danny Flores.
Flores helped a fellow dreamer fill out his DACA application 24 hours after Judge Bates gave the 90-day limit.
"[The Dreamer] turned 15 three months ago, but because of the Trump administration he wasn't able to apply the first time," said Flores. "When he heard this news, he rushed to me and said, 'Hey, can you help me fill out this application? I know it's gonna happen. I know we're going to be able to apply for DACA again'."
"The DACA program has done so much for me. It got me a job, got me a drivers license," Flores added. "It's given me a sense of safety, and I want every Dreamer to be able to have that."
If DHS can't come up with a better explanation as to why DACA is unlawful, Bates wrote that the administration "...must accept and process new as well as renewal DACA applications".
First-time DACA applications are not yet being accepted. If DHS can't give an acceptable reason as to why DACA is unlawful, that's when new applications can start.
"I think we're all full of hope and none of us will give up," said Flores. "We're gonna keep fighting. Even if nothing happens within these 90 days, we're gonna keep fighting. We're gonna keep hoping."
The South Carolina Dreamers Act of 2018 fought to give Dreamers access to more merit-based scholarships, in-state tuition and the ability to obtain professional licenses.
Herrera, for example, is working full-time and goes to college part time to study business administration. He says he has to pay out-of-state tuition, even though he's lived in the state since he was 4 years old.
"When Trump originally blocked [DACA] or took it off, it hurt a lot of young kids who had the Dream of continuing their higher education," said Herrera. "It's hard not being able to pursue my whole college degree because of the obstacle financially of not being able to afford it."
The bill, also known as HB 4435, didn't pass in this last legislative session, but supporters say they'll fight again next year.