Wednesday, November 13, 2024

DACA At Risk; Texas Challenges Legality of DACA

Texas along with 8 other Republican-led stated will ask a federal court today to rule the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unlawful, this program protects from deportation young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.

In 2017, the Trump Administration first attempted to end DACA, but their attempts were blocked by the federal courts. Recently, the government began accepting new applications for DACA for the first time in three years.

Over the years, there have been legal and political fights over DACA, which has become an essential part of the bigger debate over an immigration reform. This has created a sense on worry for 640,000 young people who rely on the program for work permits and protection.

President elect- Joe Biden has previously stated that he intends to fully reinstate the program while Republicans continue to fight to end it. In 2018, Texas filed a lawsuit against DACA, but the case was put on hold due to other lawsuits trying to stop the Trump Administration from ending the program. Texas will now argue that the program is unlawful because it is an overreach of presidential power and that it is also costing the state money.

Legal observers claim that U.S. Judge Andrew Hanan, who is the judge assigned for this case, has already hinted his opinion on the case. He is likely to decline the immediate ending of DACA, but he also wrote in a preliminary opinion that Texas is likely to win the case.

Juan Cerda and fiancée, Juana, are both DREAMers, and by now they are accustomed to their immigration status disrupting their lives. Juan Cerda, a teacher in Texas, was forced to resigned because the government prevented his DACA renewal application. He was re-hired a month later, but he decided to become an immigration organizer instead.  “I can’t live like this forever. We can’t be depending on our president every four years to say whether this program is legal or not” He said.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL