Biden vows to appeal ruling against ‘Dreamers’ immigration programme
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Saturday denounced as “deeply disappointing” a federal judge’s decision curbing a programme that protects undocumented migrants brought to the country as children.
In a statement from the White House, Biden said the Justice Department would appeal the ruling by Texas-based Judge Andrew Hanen, while adding that “only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers,” the young people brought to the US as children.
DACA supporters received a temporary reprieve in June 2020 when the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 vote that the Trump administration had not provided sufficient justification for its attempts to end the programme.
It made clear it was ruling largely on procedural issues, and left open the possibility of further challenges.
Hanen’s ruling was limited, however. It is unclear how the nine high court justices might rule if the case again reaches them.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, instituted by then-president Barack Obama in 2012, covers around 700,000 people, conferring legal status on them, as well as the right to work. For many, America is the only country they have ever known. In his ruling, Hanen said Obama exceeded his authority when he instituted DACA by executive order. He called the order “unlawful.”
The government must stop accepting people to the program, Hanen said, though he added it could still receive applications.
He said the ruling did not require the Department of Homeland Security or Department of Justice to “take any immigration, deportation, or criminal action against any DACA recipient, applicant, or any other individual that it would not otherwise take.”
The ruling also did not immediately affect the status of people already accepted to the programme.