Asian American groups blast court ruling that DACA is illegal

A District Court judge in Texas drew the wrath of several Asian American civil rights groups after ruling that DACA is illegal.

The program is designed to protect from deportation many undocumented children who arrived before their 16th birthday.

“This decision is a reminder that we cannot wait for the courts to act for our communities,” said NAKASEC Co-Director, Jung Woo Kim in a statement sent to AsAmNews. “DACA alone cannot be enough. We need permanent protections, and we need them for all of us, not just for a few. In the face of unprecedented attacks on our immigrant communities, President Biden and Congress have a choice: they are either with us or against us.

Judge Andrew Hanen ruling does, however, allow current DACA recipients to renew their DACA.

According to Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, there are currently 14,000 Asian Americans and 150 Pacific Islander living under DACA protections.

“If DACA were to end, these community members—who have long called the United States home alongside millions of others—face the loss of their jobs and ability to care for their families as well as the threat of deportation and separation from their loved ones,” said Advancing Justice-AAJC in a statement.

President Biden moved to make the DACA regulations permanent, but Republicans moved to ask Judge Hanen to shut down the program, Politico reports.

Hanen’s ruling pushes the case one step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court and its conservative majority. He also stressed that he is not ordering anyone deported, saying that remains a decision of the Department of Homeland Security.

DACA has been closed to new applicants since 2021.