US Appeals Court Rules Against DACA Immigration Program
Facts
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) — an Obama-era policy that has prevented the deportation of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants brought in as children — is unlawful, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.
- The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas-based federal district judge's initial finding: DACA is illegal because it wasn't subjected to public notice and the required comment periods. However, the three judges in the latest ruling also said the initial Texas judge, Andrew Hanen, should review his opinion in light of revisions made to the policy in August by the Biden administration.
- DACA has faced a host of legal challenges. In 2016, SCOTUS was split 4-4 over an expanded form of DACA and a form of the program that would include the parents of DACA recipients. Four years later, the Trump administration was found to have improperly ended DACA in a 5-4 high court ruling. The program will likely go to the Supreme Court for a third time over Wednesday's ruling.
- Over 600k immigrants are currently protected by DACA. Although the government can't process any new applicants, those who came to the US as children under DACA will continue to be protected for now.
- Rescinding DACA could have consequences not only for program recipients - known as 'Dreamers' - but also for their American spouses, partners, and children. Some analysts worry about the impact on employment, too. According to attorney Andrew Pincus: "On average, 1,000 people will be removed from the workforce every business day for two years" if DACA recipients are no longer protected.
- Talks on immigration in Congress are likely to be invigorated by the recent developments, with Democrats and many GOP representatives supporting the creation of permanent legal status for the Dreamers.
Sources: Reuters, Guardian, NPR Online News, FOX News, Forbes, and Wall Street Journal.
Narratives
- Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Biden's codification is yet another Democrat effort to improve the immigration eligibility of illegal aliens. The standards for DACA were previously set so low by the Obama administration that thousands of immigrants with prior violent criminal records were granted entry to the US — the justice system must uphold American security and put an end to this dangerous program.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by NBC. This latest ruling has again put the futures of Dreamers, who have spent most of their lives putting down roots in the US, at risk. We must protect the statuses of these hardworking recipients who contribute to society by defending a program that stimulates the US economy and props up the American labor market. Those deemed threats to public safety or national security are another matter entirely.