US appeals court rules DACA illegal ahead of Trump’s inauguration – JURIST

A federal US appeals court on Friday held that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) violated US immigration law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a district court’s decision to block the DACA program, finding it illegally created. The court emphasized that since Congress had deliberately excluded DACA recipients from the nation’s comprehensive immigration and naturalization framework, “Congress’s strict classification scheme precludes the contrary scheme of the DACA memorandum.” The panel noted that no party has argued that either the U.S. Supreme Court or an en banc Fifth Circuit court has issued a contrary decision, nor has Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The court also stated, “Because Texas is the only plaintiff who has demonstrated or even attempted to demonstrate an actual injury, and because that injury is fully remedied by a geographically limited injunction, we narrow the scope of the injunction to Texas.”

In 2022, a panel of Fifth Circuit judges upheld a district court ruling that held the DACA program illegal. The court barred individuals from applying for the program, but allowed current recipients to renew their status. The panel allowed a stay issued by the lower court to remain in place, temporarily keeping the program alive.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established DACA in 2012 under then-President Barack Obama. The program allows certain individuals who immigrated to the United States as children, known as “Dreamers,” to request work authorization and deferred action on their removal from the country. So do dreamers qualified for in-state tuition rates, health care and other benefit programs. DHS published a final rule on the case in 2022, aiming to preserve DACA amid legal challenges to the policy.

The court’s ruling came just three days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, raising uncertainty about the future status of Dreamers under his administration. During Trump’s first term in office, he claimed the policy was illegal and announced his plans to end DACA. The US Supreme Court blocked that effort, but only on procedural grounds, leaving the fate of the policy hanging in the balance.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated Friday’s ruling reads:

This is a win for Texas. I am pleased that the Fifth Circuit found that the Biden administration’s DACA policy was unlawful … I look forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump to ensure that the rule of law is restored and that the illegal immigration crisis finally stopped.