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For now, however, those currently participating in the DACA program will be allowed to stay there, even though the judge has blocked the government from approving applications from new entrants. Here’s a breakdown of what his decision means.
DACA was established by the Obama administration in 2012.
The program offers undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children protection from deportation as well as certain permissions to work in the United States. To be eligible, applicants must have arrived in the United States before the age of 16 and have lived there since June 15, 2007. They must not be over the age of 30 when the Department of Homeland Security adopted the policy. 2012. Beneficiaries are required to renew their coverage every two years. The program does not offer permanent protection or a pathway to citizenship.
The Trump administration tried unsuccessfully to overturn it, but President Joe Biden has vowed to strengthen it. His administration has already taken steps to subject the DACA to a more rigorous regulatory process, after Hanen previously said the Obama administration failed to follow all proper administrative procedures to launch the program.
What did Judge Hanen do?
Hanen declared the DACA illegal because he concluded that it had violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which dictates the procedures agencies must follow to implement certain policies. Rather than immediately canceling the entire program, it is suspending aspects of its decision for the time being, as the case continues to be litigated and the government may therefore consider making changes to the program.
Does this mean that DACA beneficiaries will lose their jobs and be kicked out?
No. Friday’s decision applies to new applicants, not those already in the program. Hanen has suspended his order for the current DACA recipients. As long as this stay is in effect, these beneficiaries can also renew – a process that occurs every two years. Beneficiaries will still be protected against deportation under the DACA and allowed to work legally.
So who does it affect?
New candidates. Last December, a New York federal judge ruled that the federal government must accept new DACA applications. Since then, thousands of people eligible for the program have applied, but the majority are still awaiting approval amid a backlog that has built up during the coronavirus pandemic. Friday’s ruling prevents those requests from being accepted, even though they were submitted before the ruling, according to Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. A Latin American civil rights legal organization, MALDEF represents a group of DACA recipients defending the program in this case.
What happens next in the case?
Lawyers representing individual DACA beneficiaries said on Friday they were evaluating next steps. The Biden administration, as well as New Jersey, which has stepped in to defend the DACA, may also choose to appeal.
The December New York City court order that ordered the federal government to grant new DACA requests, an order that appears to contradict Hanen’s Friday ruling barring the administration from granting them, makes matters worse more complicated.
The big picture: If Hanen’s order is appealed, it will go to the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals, an extremely conservative appeals court. If and when he then goes to the Supreme Court, DACA supporters will face a conservative majority including three justices who have called the program illegal in a dissent in a previous case.
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