Federal appeals court rules against DACA

A U.S. federal appeals court recently ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, created under the Obama Administration is unlawful.

DACA protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.

In July 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas ruled that the DACA program was unlawful, blocking new applications, CNN reports.

On Wednesday, the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling. According to Reuters, the decision still blocks new applications but allows the current 594,000 DACA enrollees to renew their status.

In August, the Biden administration finalized a rule that would maintain the Obama-era DACA program. The rule was established in an effort to protect the program from legal attacks like the case in the Southern District of Texas. The appeals court has asked that lower court to consider the rule in its decision.

“A district court is in the best position to review the administrative record in the rulemaking proceeding and determine whether our holdings as to the 2012 DACA Memorandum fully resolve issues concerning the Final Rule,” the ruling states, according to CNN.

The Biden administration views the appellate court’s decision as a Republican attempt to undermine DACA.

“Today’s decision is the result of continued efforts by Republican state officials to strip DACA recipients of the protections and work authorization that many have now held for over a decade,” Biden said in a statement, according to Reuters. “And while we will use the tools we have to allow Dreamers to live and work in the only country they know as home, it is long past time for Congress to pass permanent protections for Dreamers, including a pathway to citizenship.”