The Court of Appeals issued a new decision on DACA renewal: Is the program still illegal?
On Wednesday, October 5, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced its decision to the American public on the future of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): the policy remains in effect, but DACA renewal is still impossible.
Now, a lower court has been ordered to review the program and corroborate the legality of the new measures proposed by Joe Biden’s administration in August of this year. But for the time being, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling keeps everything as it was; that is, older dreamers remain protected, and new enrollees are prohibited.
Does this mean that DACA is still illegal? When can program renewals begin? What will happen to former beneficiaries? Jaskot Law answers all your questions, so read on!
What is happening with DACA?
Deferred Action prevents the deportation of thousands of underage dreamers who came to the United States. It allows them to work and live legally with their families, without fear of being removed from the country. However, since it was flagged as illegal in 2020, DACA is completely adrift. Its beneficiaries have been fearing for their legal status, their jobs, and their families for two years now. In addition, no new DACA renewals are received until the situation is reversed, preventing thousands of young migrants from adjusting their immigration status.
After the back and forth, everything finally fell to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which was to make the final decision on Wednesday. But again, the court’s ruling left the future of the program up in the air.
With the court’s statements, President Joe Biden, who has long championed the dreamers’ cause and advocated for their reinstatement, said he was “very disappointed.”
“The court’s order offers temporary respite for DACA recipients, but one thing remains clear: The lives of ‘dreamers’ remain in limbo,” President Biden told reporters.
He also stated that the government will continue to fight for the program, and that efforts will be made to ensure that all dreamers receive the necessary protection to continue living and working in the country that originally welcomed them and which they now consider their home.
Will DACA continue to be illegal?
For the time being, the court upheld the Texas judge’s declaration that the DACA program is illegal. However, this time the case has been remanded back to the small Texas court that started it all to review the modifications Biden made last month. If all goes well, this new version of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals should be implemented by October 31 of this year.
These new changes are represented in a 453-page document, where the changes are minimal technicalities that will mean that the essence of DACA remains the same, but this time, immune to challenges from the anti-immigrant opposition.
Many support the program, including not only the government in force, but also large companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft due to the importance of the Dreamer workforce to their businesses. On the other hand, opposition is also very strong, with eight other U.S. states in addition to Texas whose governments want to eliminate the program.
The battle was hard fought, but it seems that an agreement is finally being reached. We have yet to see the decision of this court before celebrating the happy return of DACA as we knew it.
At Jaskot Law, we will keep you up to date on future changes and news about DACA in particular, and other immigration laws in general. Stay tuned to our blog!
