No ruling in case deciding fate of DACA immigration program
A federal judge did not immediately rule on a closely watched case over the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which confers limited protections on hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought into the U.S. as children
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A federal judge did not immediately rule Tuesday on a closely watched case over the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which confers limited protections on hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought into the U.S. as children.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen set an early April deadline for lawyers on both sides to provide more information.
Texas heads a coalition of Republican-led states that want Hanen to invalidate the DACA program, instituted in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama Defending the program is the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the state of New Jersey.
DACA recipients are granted a two-year reprieve from deportation that can be extended and receive a work permit and a Social Security number. The more than 600,000 people currently in the program must meet several requirements, including having no criminal record. Immigrants who are accepted and later get arrested face deportation to their country of origin.
Hanen declined in 2018 to issue a preliminary injunction, saying Texas and other states had waited too long to sue. But in that ruling, he said he believed DACA was unconstitutional and called on Congress to enact legislation shielding people under the program, often known as “Dreamers." Separate federal court rulings barred former President Donald Trump from ending the program and required him to reinstitute admissions.
But the program remains on potentially precarious ground. Lawyers for Texas on Tuesday pushed Hanen to quickly invalidate DACA. MALDEF has asked Hanen to delay any new order as President Joe Biden s administration and Congress consider legislation addressing DACA recipients.
Proposals on Capitol Hill have already faced strong Republican opposition and the politics of immigration have been complicated by a sharp increase in border crossings by immigrant children unaccompanied by a parent. GOP lawmakers have alleged Biden's limited reversal of Trump immigration restrictions have driven families to attempt to cross the border, though migrant families and experts interviewed by The Associated Press have offered a multitude of reasons.
Hanen noted that there had been dozens of failed proposals in the years since Obama enacted DACA.