Judge Again Finds DACA Program Illegal, Blocks New Applications, Allows Renewals | Jackson Lewis P.C.

The “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival” (DACA) program is not legal, US District Court Judge Andrew Hanen in the US state of Texas et al. v. USA et al.

Judge Hanen issued an injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from accepting new DACA applications. However, he recognized the considerable interests of trust involved and allowed the current DACA beneficiaries to continue to renew their status and work permits – at least as long as appeals are pending. The Biden administration immediately replied that they would appeal the decision.

The case is expected to go through the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (in New Orleans) and land in the U.S. Supreme Court for the third time. The first time was when the Supreme Court appealed Judge Hanen’s earlier ruling that extending DACA and creating the deferred lawsuit was illegal for parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents. In this case, the Supreme Court split and let Judge Hanen’s nationwide injunction in force. The second time, for tight technical reasons, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration had failed to follow proper procedures in attempting to end the DACA program.

The question now is whether Congress will pass laws to protect the “dreamers” and give them a route to permanent residence and US citizenship. The American Dream and Promise Act, passed by the House of Representatives in 2021, provides those avenues, but the entire bill is unlikely to get passed in the Senate. Outsourcing the DACA regulation would be possible. Otherwise, the thousands of people who were brought to the United States by their parents before the age of 16 will remain in suspense.

DACA was introduced by the Obama administration in 2012 and has been under attack since 2017 when the Trump administration announced it would end DACA. President Joe Biden taught that dreamers “are part of our national fabric and make important contributions to churches across the country every day.” President Biden acknowledged that the Dreamers’ contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic were particularly evident when “[m]all of them worked tirelessly on the front lines during this pandemic to keep our country afloat, food and health – yet their immigrant status forced them to live with fear and insecurity.

Judge Hanen’s ruling in the State of Texas vs. US case does not affect the status or employment authorization of current DACA beneficiaries. DACA beneficiaries who have work permit documents that have not yet expired do not need to re-examine a work permit based on this decision (although they will have to re-examine this before their work permit expires).