In a narrow decision, a federal appeals court has declared the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unconstitutional in the state of Texas.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld part of a lower court’s decision that declared the program violated the Constitution, CNN reported, falling short of banning it nationwide and instead applying the ruling only to the Lone Star State.
The decision did leave in place a pause on the government accepting new applications to the program but it otherwise remains intact for those already in the program in the 49 other states.
“Because (Department of Homeland Security) intended the aspects of DACA to be severable and to function independently from one another, the district court erred by not severing the forbearance provisions from the work-authorization provisions,” U.S. District Judge Jerry Smith, who was appointed by the late former President Ronald Reagan, said in the decision.
MALDEF vice president of litigation, Nina Perales, who represents DACA program members in Texas, said that the decision leaves questions for those in the program who are allowed to work in the state.
“It’s striking down that part of the DACA rule that makes DACA recipients eligible for work authorization consideration,” she said.
“That answer is not provided in the decision,” she said when questioned about whether the decision would remove work permits from DACA recipients. “It’s unlikely that it means a sudden end to work authorization, given that even Texas, in the case, was asking for a wind-down.”
“The case challenging the legality of the DACA policy is currently under review by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. We are now waiting on a final decision, or instructions on next steps, from the panel of judges. Oral arguments were held on October 10, 2024,” Fwd.us reported in late October.
The appeals court had previously ruled the program illegal. In September 2023, Judge Andrew Hanen, a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas, ruled that the DACA program is illegal.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, said earlier this month that Democrats would “love” to collaborate with President-elect Donald Trump on a deal for DACA recipients.
Schumer made the comments during an appearance on NBC News’s Meet the Press on Sunday, where he was asked about potential areas for cooperation between Democrats and Trump’s incoming administration, especially considering the president-elect’s plans to address immigration.
Although Trump has advocated for extensive deportation measures, he has shown interest in allowing DACA recipients, commonly referred to as Dreamers, to remain in the United States.
“Well, we’d love to do that,” Schumer said Sunday. “Our party has been strongly fighting for the Dreamers for a decade.”
“Look, these are people, they were little, tiny children when they were brought over the border,” he continued. “Many of them have been here for decades. Some have served in the armed forces. Many of them are working very productively and have families.”
“Yes, if we can find a solution so that the Dreamers could stay here, we’d welcome it,” Schumer continued, per The Hill.
DACA, a controversial program stemming from an executive order issued by then-President Barack Obama in 2012 that essentially granted amnesty to illegal immigrants brought into the country as children, has been a political football since its inception.
Republicans frequently argued that Obama, as president, had no authority to grant amnesty to anyone in the country illegally. However, in a narrow 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2020 that the manner in which the first Trump administration attempted to rescind the program was unlawful without commenting on whether its creation by Obama was constitutional.
“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. “The wisdom of those decisions is none of our concern. Here we address only whether the Administration complied with the procedural requirements in the law that insist on ‘a reasoned explanation for its action.'”
With that decision, the nation’s highest court left open the potential for additional litigation, since justices did not decide the question of whether Obama’s executive order creating DACA was constitutional. And in fact, there has been additional litigation that actually addresses the legality of the program.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
