Federal Judge halts new DACA applications after ruling the program illegal.
A federal judge in Texas, late Friday afternoon issued a ruling that stated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was illegal, and ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt all new DACA applications.
DACA was a program that was started in former President Barack Obama’s administration back in 2012 as a program to provide security to nearly 700,000 illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportations
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen delivers a major blow to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, who’s status without the program is uncertain. The ruling came in favor of Texas and several other conservative states which had sued to suspend new DACA applications.
Hanen ruled that congress did not grant DHS with the power or authority to establish DACA, and that it prevented the enforcement of removal provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act. However Hanen did acknowledge the impact of DACA on current recipients. In a separate ruling he noted,
“Hundreds of thousands of individual DACA recipients, along with their employers, states, and loved ones, have come to rely on the DACA program. Given those interests, it is not equitable for a government program that has engendered such a significant reliance to terminate suddenly.”
With this ruling, there was immediate criticism from Democrats, who have been avid supporters of the program. President Biden said in a statement on Saturday
“Yesterday’s Federal court ruling is deeply disappointing. While the court’s order does not now affect current DACA recipients, this decision nonetheless relegates hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to an uncertain future. The Department of Justice intends to appeal this decision in order to preserve and fortify DACA.”
In his statement, President Biden also called on congress to create a permanent solution to address DACA, since congress is the only body that could permanently address the status of the DACA program. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also issued a statement yesterday saying,
“Democrats will continue to press for any and all paths to ensure that the Dream and Promise Act, now passed twice by the House, becomes the law of the land. Democrats call on Republicans in Congress to join us in respecting the will of the American people and the law, to ensure that Dreamers have a permanent path to citizenship.”
While the ruling has come as a surprise for many, this isn’t the first major defeat for the program. Throughout the Trump administration, the former President and Republicans on Capitol Hill had criticized the program, and tried ending the DACA altogether in September of 2017, although the attempt was blocked by the Supreme Court in June of last year. There have also been several other court challenges to the program in the past.
The current administration has proposed legislation to create a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, also known as “Dreamers” and about 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. right now.
Other Democrats joined the President in criticizing the ruling, including Vice President Kamala Harris, various members of congress and former President Barack Obama, who created the program.