Biden disappointed by ruling to halt DACA program
Says DOJ will appeal decision
President Joe Biden on Saturday said it was “deeply disappointing” that a federal judge had decided to halt much of an Obama administration initiative that protected undocumented “dreamers” who arrived in the United States as children, and said the Justice Department planned to appeal the ruling.
The judge’s decision also prompted Mr. Biden and other Democrats to redouble their pleas to Congress to pass legislation — even if it required a budget reconciliation process — that would provide a path to citizenship todreamers.
“Only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means, Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived too long in fear.”
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen on Friday sided with Texas and other states in his ruling that President Barack Obama overstepped his executive authority when he created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, calling it an “illegally implemented program.”
The ruling by Judge Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, allows the more than 600,000 young people already in the program to keep their protected status, but prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from approving new applications. Judge Hanen also issued a permanent injunction vacating the memo that created DACA in 2012 — when Mr. Biden was vice president — and remanded the issue to the Department of Homeland Security for reconsideration.
Secretary of Homeland Security
Alejandro Mayorkas said Saturday that he too was “disappointed” by Judge Hanen’s decision but that the department would continue processing DACA renewal requests, consistent with the ruling.
“DHS remains focused on safeguarding DACA, and we will engage the public in a rulemaking process to preserve and fortify DACA,” Mr. Mayorkas said in a statement. Like Mr. Biden, Mr. Mayorkas also called on Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act through the reconciliation process “to provide permanent protection that the American people want and Dreamershave earned.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who brought the lawsuit against the Biden administration and has sought to block the administration on other immigration-related matters, cheered the decision Saturday.
“I think it’s right to stop a president who just decided that he didn’t like federal law & came up with his own immigration laws,” Mr. Paxton tweeted. “We sued him, rightfully so, for violating federal lawand we won.”
Judge Hanen’s decision triggered an uproar from dreamers and activists, who decried Friday’s ruling as yet another instance of their long-term security being upended by political tempests. On Saturday morning, several DACA recipients and activists gathered in front of United Methodist Church in Washington to rally against the ruling and call on Congressto act.
“We are demanding, without any lack of clarity, citizenship through the reconciliation process,” Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of the nonprofit United We Dream, said to cheers.
Shealso fired off a warning shot to lawmakers, including Democrats, who released statements of sympathy and support that were not followed up by legislative action.
“We cannot do anything with your well wishes and your tweets,” she declared. “We are demanding clear actionin this moment.”