Federal judge rules DACA illegal again — What will happen to ‘dreamers’?

Susana Lujano, left, a dreamer from Mexico who lives in Houston, joins other activists to rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. A federal judge on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. | J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

A federal judge in Texas ruled on Wednesday that the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was unlawful.

The program — first established in 2012 through an executive action by then-President Barack Obama — has shielded thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation and given them the ability to work legally within the United States.

Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the Federal District Court in Houston said that Obama acted beyond his executive authority when he created the program while avoiding Congress, reported The Associated Press.

The verdict was reached on an updated version of the program presented by the Biden administration that took effect in October 2022.

Some critics of the program have called it a “band-aid on an open wound” which leaves the recipients, known as “dreamers,” in limbo.

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Several states including Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas and Mississippi, claimed that hundreds of millions of dollars were spent by the states on education, healthcare and other costs associated with immigrants allowed to stay in the country illegally, reported AP.

According to AP, supporters of the program — including New Jersey, the federal government, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund — argued that the states failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claim.

With the ruling, the matter is likely to be taken up by the Supreme Court, The New York Times reported.

Is DACA still active in 2023?

Although no more DACA applications will be accepted, Judge Hanen did not include in his ruling that “any immigration, deportation or criminal action against any DACA recipient” would take place right now, the Times reported.

There were 578,680 active DACA recipients within the United States as of March 31, 2023, per the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

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