Washington – A federal appeals court on Friday declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy unlawful, putting the case on more than half a million unauthorized immigrants brought to the U.S. as children ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. It became cloudy.
A panel of judges before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld a lower court ruling, finding that the Biden administration's rule to codify DACA violated U.S. immigration law. The 2012 Obama administration memorandum that originally created the policy has also been found unlawful by federal courts.
For more than 12 years, DACA has allowed thousands of immigrants who entered the US illegally or overstayed their visas as minors to live and work in the US without fear of deportation. They are colloquially known as “Dreamers”, a nickname derived from the DREAM Act, a bipartisan effort to legalize them that Congress has been considering for more than two decades, but failed to pass. Has failed.
Although it affirmed a lower court order that struck down the Biden administration regulation, the panel reduced the impact of the ruling, making it applicable only in Texas, leading to a Republican-led lawsuit against the state's DACA. Had been. The panel put its decision on hold as it relates to current DACA beneficiaries, pending another court decision by the 5th Circuit or the Supreme Court, allowing renewals to continue.
The panel also ruled that the deportation protections offered by DACA can be legally separated from the work permits beneficiaries receive.
As of the end of September 2024, there were approximately 538,000 immigrants enrolled in DACA. US Citizenship and Immigration ServicesThe agency that oversees this initiative. To qualify for the policy, applicants must establish that they arrived in the US before their 16th birthday and June 2007; Graduated from a US high school or enrolled in the military; And had no serious criminal record.
Friday's decision could pave the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to finally settle the years-long legal battle over DACA. But it is unclear how the incoming Trump administration will handle the matter and whether it will try to end the program. While President Biden's Justice Department has vigorously defended DACA in court, the Trump administration previously tried to phase out the policy, calling it unlawful. Supreme Court in 2020 Stopped the expiration of DACA. On technical grounds.
Spokespeople for the Justice and Homeland Security departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Trump transition team also did not immediately say how the incoming administration would approach DACA.
