Today all the parties in the case by Texas challenging the legality of DACA filed briefs at the 5th Circuit on what the new DACA regulation means for the case. A thread on those briefs & what could come next:

1. Nothing has changed today. DACA renewals remain open to folks with current DACA. Folks with DACA can apply for advanced parole. And first-time DACA applications, sadly, can be accepted but not adjudicated. Today was just an important set of court papers being filed.

2. This case involves TX (& a handful of other states) who sued to end DACA claiming it is illegal. They won in district court in July 2021, and the case is now up on appeal to the 5th Circuit. The 5th circuit now has all the papers before it & could issue its ruling any day.

3. The Biden administration (DOJ) is defending DACA in this suit, so is @MALDEF (who represents DACA recipients in the case) & the @NewJerseyOAG. There are a range of groups involved in the lawsuit & in today's papers they take a range of positions on what the new reg means.

4. 1 question is if the 5th circuit should consider the new reg or send the case back to the district court for that. DOJ & TX say the 5th circuit should not send the case down to the district court. MALDEF and NJ, however, ask for the case to be sent to the district court.

5. So this is the first thing to watch, will the 5th circuit keep the case and decide it or will it send the case back to the district court? When will we get a decision is another key question. We unfortunately do not know. So, we just have to be ready for a decision any day.

6. Another key question is whether the 5th circuit will address the new reg if it keeps the case. DOJ and TX agree that they have the ability to do so. Though TX thinks the 5th Circuit need not address the new reg if they rule before 10/31.

7. None of the parties dispute that the new regulation is materially identical to the DACA program as created by the 2012 Napolitano memo. So, the needle has moved very little on the parties' underlying arguments as to whether DACA is legal or not.

8. 1 argument that is > clear in this DOJ brief is that the Biden admin believes the new reg (& the DACA program) is "severable". They clarify that even if a court finds portions of DACA, such as work authorization, to be unlawful, they would keep the rest of the program.

That's the update on the court papers. But this has never been about papers or a program. It's about a million young people who deserve permanent protections. If you a DACA recipient, work w/ one, live next to one, this is the time to make your voice heard.

https://twitter.com/KarenTumlin/stat...97434599370752