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Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, halting new applications from being adjudicated, though staying—at least for now—a decision with regard to current recipients.
In Texas v. United States, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen sided with the challenge put forward in 2018 by a coalition led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
After the decision, Philip E. Wolgin, acting vice president of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
“We are outraged at today’s politically motivated decision ruling against DACA. This decision is cruel, unnecessary, and belies the many contributions that DACA recipients are making to the country at a critical time. And blocking new DACA applications from being adjudicated means that more than 60,000 DACA-eligible individuals, who applied for the program in good faith but have faced significant delays in seeing their applications adjudicated, will now be shut out of the program.
“Today, more than 600,000 DACA recipients live and have built careers in the United States; they are the parents of 254,000 U.S.-citizen children and contribute $8.7 million in taxes each year. As the country works to emerge from a public health and economic catastrophe that has claimed the lives of more than 550,000 Americans, 200,000 DACA recipients—including an estimated 29,000 doctors, nurses, and technicians—have been on the front lines protecting the health and safety of Americans and putting their own health and safety and that of their families at risk. Judge Hanen’s decision only adds further uncertainty for these recipients, their families, and their communities.
“Today’s ruling redoubles the urgency for Congress to act and deliver the permanent protections that DACA recipients and their families urgently need, including through reconciliation. We have never stopped fighting to protect DACA recipients throughout the Trump administration’s attempts to end the initiative, and we will not stop fighting for them today either.
FWD.us President Todd Schulte also released the following statement on the Texas DACA ruling:
“Today’s ruling is deeply disappointing, but does not obscure two basic facts: DACA is a tremendous success that has transformed hundreds of thousands of lives, and Congress absolutely must act right away to pass a pathway to citizenship.
“While today’s ruling does not change the fact that existing DACA recipients—meaning those who currently have DACA—can renew, it is devastating that tens of thousands of new DACA applicants who have submitted their applications will be barred from getting protections from deportation and work authorization.
“Today makes absolutely clear: only a permanent legislative solution passed by Congress will eliminate the fear and uncertainty that DACA recipients have been forced to live with for years. We call on each and every elected office to do everything within their power so that DACA recipients and their families and communities can live free from fear, and continue to build their lives here.”
Background
DACA has prevailed through numerous challenges – including a challenge to its legality right after the Obama Administration introduced the program in June of 2012; those cases were thrown out.
