DOJ, civil rights group to appeal federal judge's ruling declaring DACA illegal

Thu, November 9, 2023

HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice and a civil rights group filed legal notices on Thursday saying they plan to appeal a federal judge’s recent ruling that 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.

In September, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Houston ruled in favor of Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The federal policy was first created by the Obama administration in 2012.

In his ruling, Hanen expressed sympathy for DACA recipients and their families but said the executive branch had overstepped its authority in creating the program and it was up to Congress to take action on this issue.

In separate notices of appeal filed Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice, which represented the federal government, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, which is representing DACA recipients in the lawsuit, said they plan to ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to overturn Hanen’s ruling.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which represented the states in the lawsuit, did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on the appeal.

The appeals process, including the filing of legal briefs, likely oral arguments before 5th Circuit judges and a ruling, was expected to take months to complete. But the DACA program’s fate was ultimately expected to end up for a third time before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hanen’s order extended the current injunction that had been in place against DACA, which barred the government from approving any new applications, but left the program intact for existing recipients, known as “Dreamers,” during the ongoing legal review.

There were 578,680 people enrolled in DACA at the end of March, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Texas and the other states have argued the Obama administration didn’t have the authority to create the program and that they’ve incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally. The states that sued are Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas and Mississippi.

Those defending the program have argued Congress has given the federal government the legal authority to set immigration enforcement policies.

Congress has failed multiple times to pass proposals called the DREAM Act to protect DACA recipients.

Hanen had previously declared the program illegal in 2021. The Biden administration had tried to satisfy Hanen’s concerns with a new version of DACA but was rebuffed with September’s ruling.

https://news.yahoo.com/department-ju...AiUu_T9PztiWzg

Why can't they leave it as is? Let the states take the win and DACA continues. What's the point in appealing? I suppose the benefit is that it can reopen the program to new applicants, but at the risk of getting the whole thing shut down completely?

Can someone explain what I'm missing here?

Money is what you are missing.... To much money is being funded by these immigration groups... Then these groups fundraise off the court appeals and stuff. They want to appear like they are fighting for use especially when they are implementing Trump's border policies.

This money and effort needs to go to including DREAMER path to citizenship and registry in the funding bills. DACA and DREAMERS in their 40s; DREAMERS who were excluded by age caps at both the younger and older ends, ridiculous rule that needs to be removed completely. The qualifiers should be time in the U.S. and age at arrival prior to a certain date.

Moving the registry takes care of people who already built a life here - they have had jobs and bought homes decades ago, built their families which are now mixed with U.S. citizens. A legalization program ensures that everyone gets vetted and screened as well. New arrivals are able to apply for work authorization with a one-step app (okay, fine tech works and everything), but it is not cogent to me to criminalize labor that the country needs and to destroy families for Republican points.

seems like the game will continue in order to take it to SCOTUS where DACA will inevitably get killed altogether in 2024-2025.