On Thursday, the lawyers of young immigrants who are protected under the DACA program had to defend the program before a federal judge that had previously declared the program illegal. The judge’s 2021 decision meant that the program was completely closed and no new applications could be filed.
United States District Judge Hanen had stated that the Obama administration had not followed the administrative rules that had been in place for the program’s launch at the time. Instead, DACA was created in 2012 through an executive order by then-President Obama, and it provided a way for undocumented adults who had first arrived in the United States as children to study and work in the country without having to fear that they would be deported.
Nina Perales, VP of litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and an attorney representing DACA recipients, in the legal challenge filed by Texas and other Republican-led states against the program, stated that Hanen’s court would need to look into the Biden administration’s decision for the establishment of the program, which could increase the programs chances of surviving.
DACA has been sued by nine states, however, during a news conference, Perales stated that the states did not have the standing to sue and that they have thus far been unable to provide evidence about the harm that DACA has caused them. She proceeded to argue that in the current situation, this should not even be a case in the court.
In the court filing, the nine states argued that the update program was not in any way different from the program that had been established through the 2012 memo.
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