A Federal Appeals Court Rules DACA Unlawful, But Keeps Program Alive
A federal appeals court has dealt the immigration program known as DACA a legal setback, keeping it alive but setting the stage for a showdown at the Supreme Court. A three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the policy was unlawful, but instead of halting the entire program nationwide, they limited the injunction to only apply to Texas.
The ruling injects fresh uncertainty for around half a million recipients of the Obama-era program, which allows undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US illegally to live and work in the country. The appeals court kept in place a lower-court ruling that barred the government from accepting new applications to the program, effectively keeping DACA intact.
The court’s decision is a mixed bag for DACA recipients, with the program’s eligibility for work authorization being struck down. However, it is unclear what this means for their ability to work, with some expecting that work permits will not be immediately revoked.
The court will keep its ruling on hold pending further action from the Supreme Court, leaving the incoming Trump administration, which has shown hostility to DACA, with a decision to make about the program’s future.
The program has faced numerous legal challenges over the years, including a 2021 challenge by a group of Republican-led states that argued it harmed their states due to the public health care and educational spending that goes to DACA recipients. The appeals court judges ruled that the program is “materially identical” to the one created through executive action in 2012 and is contrary to federal immigration law, which they said did not grant the Department of Homeland Security the authority to establish the program.