The decision of US District Court Judge Andrew Hanen represents a new setback for the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA, for its acronym in English). A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy barring the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Federal Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states that sued to stop the program. The judge’s ruling is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, which will be the third time the highest court has reviewed the program.
The resolution of Texas-based US District Court Judge Andrew Hanen represents a new setback for the 579,000 registrants and other migrants who would benefit from it.
Hanen, the Republican-appointed judge, determined that a regulation the Biden administration issued last year did not remedy the legal deficiencies that led him to declare DACA illegal in 2021 and block new ones. program enrollment, implemented by more than one of each.
The White House reacted by saying it was “deeply disappointed,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Jean-Pierre recalled that a priority of the Biden Government is to protect DACA beneficiaries “from day one” and called on Congress to approve the legislation that would pave the way for this regularization.
The ruling, issued in response to a lawsuit filed in Texas and other states, is expected to be appealed.
