DACA challenge heads to 5th Circuit Court of Appeals
A federal appeals court in New Orleans heard arguments Thursday on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.
More than 535,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children are protected from deportation under DACA.
Texas is one of the nine Republican-led states that sued over the initiative in 2018, saying DACA costs the states money and that it went beyond President Obama's authority to create the policy in 2012.
Tuesday’s hearing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans was because the U.S. Supreme Court kicked the case back to the 5th Circuit.
Texas and eight other Republican states are trying to convince the court they have standing in this case, arguing they have spent millions on health care and education costs for illegal immigrants who receive federal protection.
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'This is home': Dallas DACA recipient reacts to judge ruling DACA program illegal
A Texas federal judge declared the DACA program illegal on Friday, following a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas and eight other conservative states.
Tuesday morning, about 200 "Dreamers" protested outside the courthouse.
The panel of judges hearing the case consists of two judges appointed by Republican presidents and one by a Democrat.
Judges on the panel did not indicate when they would rule.
In June, on the 12th anniversary of the initiative, President Joe Biden spoke about his continued support for DACA.
"I refuse to believe that to secure our border, we have to walk away from being an American. The best generations have been renewed, revitalized and refreshed by the talent, the skill, the hard work, the courage and determination from immigrants coming to our country," said President Biden.
In 2021, a federal judge in Texas ruled the program was unlawful, and that decision was quickly appealed.
In 2021, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reacted to the state's ruling to block new DACA applications, saying, "I think it’s right to stop a president who just decided that he didn’t like federal law and came up with his own immigration laws. We sued him, rightfully so, for violating federal law, and we won."
It could take weeks or months before the court issues a decision. If DACA is ruled unlawful, it will probably not end immediately.
The case is expected to end up back in the Supreme Court.