[NFA] President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the Justice Department will appeal a "deeply disappointing" ruling by a federal judge in Texas on the DACA program that protects certain immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation, while also urging Congress to take action.
Colette Luke has more.
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the Justice Department will appeal a "deeply disappointing" ruling by a federal judge in Texas that ruled DACA was illegal, blocking new applications to the program.
In a statement, Biden said quote “this decision nonetheless relegates hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to an uncertain future... But 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.” DACA RECIPIENT: “Yesterday's ruling from Judge Hanon in Texas proves that our lives in this country are still at risk.” In the nation's capital, DACA recipients - known as Dreamers - and others affected by the ruling on Saturday blasted the Judge’s order.
DACA RECIPIENT: “While I may have DACA for the time being, this is not the reality for my parents who always carry the fear of potentially being targeted by immigration enforcement and deported.
It is not enough for me just to have permanent protection.
My parents deserve citizenship too.” In his ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen sided with a group of states led by Texas suing to end the DACA program.
The judge concluded that former President Barack Obama exceeded his powers when he created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012 by executive action, bypassing Congress.
Hanen said that because nearly 650,000 people are enrolled in the program, his ruling would be put on hold temporarily.
But he suspended new DACA applications.
DACA protects immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from being deported, granting them work authorization, access to drivers' licenses, and sometimes financial aid for education.
Since taking office, President Joe Biden has sought to protect DACA, after the Supreme Court blocked his predecessor Donald Trump's bid to end the program last year.
