US Federal Judge Deems DACA Program for Child Migrants Unlawful

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A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a longstanding DACA program protecting migrants who came to the US as children from deportation is unlawful.

The judge, however, did not grant a request to terminate those protections over the next two years.

Nine Republican-led states sued to end it, claiming they have to spend millions of dollars to support illegal immigrants living in the US.

More than half-a-million people – known as Dreamers – are currently enrolled.

The Biden administration is expected to appeal Wednesday’s ruling, potentially setting the stage for a showdown at the US Supreme Court.

The federal program was first implemented during the administration of Barack Obama in 2012.

It shields recipients from deportation and allows them to be granted work authorization, get a driving license, and apply for education financial aid.

After surviving a previous attempt to end the program during the Trump administration in 2020, Dhaka was dealt a blow in July 2021 when Texas federal judge Andrew Hanen declared it illegal and ruled it had been illegally created without congressional authorization.

That ruling allowed DACA recipients to renew their status, but blocked first-time applicants from applying.

Additionally, the states that sued – which include Texas, Alabama, and South Carolina – claim they spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually when immigrants are allowed to remain in the US illegally.

The ruling was appealed and sent back to Judge Hanen’s court after the Biden administration revised the program.

“The Obama and Biden programs are practically indistinguishable in both the negative harms that they will have on this country and in the illegal means used to implement them,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in February.

The Biden administration has repeatedly defended the program, and in April announced expanded health coverage for recipients.

“Dreamers are Americans. Many have spent the majority of their lives in the United States,” President Biden said in a statement marking the program’s eleventh anniversary on June 15.

“They are our doctors, our teachers, and our small business owners.”

DACA Recipients Take their Fight to Washington