A federal district court judge in Texas once again struck down the revised Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, that offers immigrants brought to the U.S. before the age of 18 protection from ageing out and being deported.
Two years after ruling it unlawful, Republican-appointed Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District Court of Texas said the revised DACA policy by Biden Administration was illegal, and new applications should not be continued. However, applicants already enrolled under the program would remain protected, and have the right to renew their DACA status, as per the new ruling.
The Biden administration issued a regulation to the program in August 2022 to remedy the legal deficiencies that led to Hanen ruling DACA unlawful in 2021. Hanen said the regulation failed to do so, and struck down the program on those grounds, prohibiting further expansion of the program which has been in place since 2013.
Reacting to ruling, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a statement that he administration disagrees with the conclusion and will continue to defend this policy from legal challenges.
“We are committed to protecting all the Dreamers who have throughout their lives enriched our communities and our country, and we continue to call on Congress to provide permanent protection to the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers in the United States,” her statement reads in part.
The administration and DACA supporters are expected to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which had remanded the case back to the Southern District of Texas last fall.
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