Judge hears arguments on new DACA affecting 700,000 Dreamers: What comes next

Lawyers for the companies and government arguing for the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals until 2022, and for a coalition of nine Republican-governed states that sued the original 2012 version, presented oral arguments for and against the new rule Thursday. A lawsuit filed in 2018 puts about 700,000 Dreamers on the brink of deportation.

The investigation was conducted under the chairmanship Judge Andrew S. HanenHe ruled the program illegal in 2021, but allowed DACA-protected Dreamers to continue to renew their deportation protections and work permits.

As for new applications from Dreamers who are not enrolled in the program, Hanen ordered the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop processing them.

Following the 2021 ruling, attorneys for the Justice Department and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) challenged Hannon’s decision in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and asked the court to overturn the ruling. The government will replace the 2012 plan with a new one that fixes the issues that led to the lawsuit.

The class of plaintiffs from Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Texas and West Virginia alleges that DACA (since 2012) is illegal because the government changed parts of the Immigration Act (INA). . He made the changes without Congressional approval and without first publishing them in the Federal Register, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

The appeals court sent the case back to the Texas court, the scene of a new trial today, and instructed Judge Hannon to take the new DACA into account now before making a final ruling on the program’s future.

During Thursday’s hearing, Ryan Walters of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted the case in 2018, asserted before Hanen that “every aspect of this program (the new DACA) … is illegal.” It should reiterate the 2018 judgment.

In late October of last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new DACA (Version 2023) that, according to the government, fixed problems in the previous program that prompted the lawsuit.

Both government and MALDEF attorneys told the court that the new plan was implemented in accordance with the APA’s guidelines and met Federal Register publication requirements, including opening a public comment period.

DACA defenders argue that since the new program is in place, the arguments used by opponents are futile, so they urged Hannon to rescind the 2021 sentence and allow the program to be fully reinstated, including receiving 82,000 new applications. by USCIS, but not by order of the District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The DACA program protects holders from deportation and provides them with renewable employment authorization every two years. Beneficiaries must have no criminal record and cannot leave the country unless authorized by the Immigration Service.

After Thursday’s hearing, organizations defending the program and the Dreamer community now await a new ruling that will determine the immediate future of the program and the thousands of young people protected from deportation by DACA.

As for possible scenarios, the FWD.us organization, a lobby group made up of leaders in the tech community including Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and Dropbox, said there was no guarantee the project would go ahead.

• A decision any time from this Thursday, but it could take weeks or months;
• Judgment approves 2021 sentence;
• If so, it will go back to the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which will convene hearings for a ruling in 2024;
• If the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Judge Hannon’s ruling, the case will escalate to the Supreme Court, which will convene hearings and issue a ruling in the summer of 2025.

It should be noted that in June 2020, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled against then-President Donald Trump’s repeal of the program as “unlawful” and not in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (ABA). ), resulting in “capricious and arbitrary” action.

“Our focus continues to ensure that current DACA recipients are not discouraged from renewing … even though the program is closed to first-time applicants,” said Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us. The plan and the long term of uncertainty are brutal. A waste of potential for Dreamers and the United States.”

For its part, United We Dream (UWD) has renewed its call for the nearly 700,000 Dreamers protected by DACA to re-register in the next 150 days if their deportation protection or employment authorization expires.

UWD advises people who have problems with renewals or have doubts about errors that could result in their deportation or not meeting the program’s requirements to seek legal advice before contacting USCIS.

The cost of re-registration is $495, which includes Form I-765 ($410 for employment authorization) and biometric fingerprinting ($85).

“USCIS may waive the collection of certain biometric data at its discretion,” UWD recalled.

The Dreamer community and immigrant rights groups pointed out that waiting for a final decision on the program’s future has become “brutal.”

• “As we try to survive and provide for ourselves and our loved ones, years of unwarranted attacks on DACA recipients continue to baffle us. DACA is right, and while Congress did not provide a path to citizenship, DACA has been a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people to work and live without fear of deportation.” Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Deputy Director of the UWD Federal Defender.
• “With DACA I was able to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz, get a degree, and work to support my family and my 2-year-old son. Whatever the court says, I hope that soon, Congress is ready to pass a permanent solution for me and the many immigrants who contribute to this country. Maritza Gutierrez, Dreamer and member of the Coalition for Immigrant Human Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA).
• “Once again, we are putting our lives in the hands of people who don’t understand that home is for us. Judge Hanen previously ruled against the plan in 2021, and it has affected many young people who want to better themselves and live without fear of deportation. Ivonne Ramirez, Dreamer and Community Poet Laureate, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.
• “Communities across the United States have supported the DACA program since its inception, yet time and time again aliens use our legal system to create obstacles to the program, leaving our neighbors in disarray.” Danilo Zach is Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy at Church World Service.
• “Dreamers should not have to live in fear of the courts taking away their livelihoods at any moment. It’s time for Congress to stop playing politics with Dreamers and provide them and other undocumented members of our communities with long-overdue permanent security and a path to citizenship.” Blanca Gamez is a dreamer and activist for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
• “Judge Hanen must confirm DACA once and for all. DACA recipients cannot continue to live in limbo with this nonsense. DACA has a significant positive effect on everyone, not just young students, it affects our families and helps them find better opportunities and better jobs. Jesus Escamilla, DACA recipient and president of the UFW Foundation.