The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday ordered a lower court review of DACA, the Biden administration program preventing the deportation of so-called ‘Dreamers’, immigrants brought into the United States as children, following the revisions adopted in August.
The presented changes to DACA, which were open to public comments, are pointed at legal challenges in relation to the program and don’t contain substantial modifications to the 2012 Obama-era policy memo.
Adopted by former President Barack Obama’s administration, DACA has had a complicated ride through federal court challenges.
This leaves the future of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) up in the air, with hundreds of thousands of current recipients protected for now, but barring the US government from processing new applicants for individuals seeking DACA benefits.
According to the federal appeals court, the Obama administration didn’t have the authority to institute DACA but declined to dismantle it, allowing more than 600,000 immigrants to continue to enjoy its protections.
Pointing out that the program had not been subjected to public notice and comment periods required under the federal Administrative Procedures Act, US District Judge Andrew Hanen declared DACA illegal last year, but he left the program temporarily intact for the current beneficiaries, pending the appeal.
Wednesday’s ruling upholds Judge Hanen’s initial finding, but it returns the case back to him for a look at a new version of the rule that takes effect Oct. 31.
Nine GOP-led states, including Texas, are suing the US government, arguing that they’re harmed financially by spending hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education, and other costs for illegals who are being allowed to stay in the US.
They also argued that by granting immigration benefits that are for Congress to decide, the Biden administration overstepped its authority.
The advocacy group Families Belong Together, which was among advocates renewing calls Wednesday for the Biden administration and Congress to protect DACA recipients, stressed in a statement that it’s beyond time for them to act on their promises to secure permanent protections for Dreamers, including a pathway to citizenship, once and for all.
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