More than a decade has passed since the establishment of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The program, issued by Obama in 2012, gave thousands of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children a chance at life out of the shadows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For most of that time, DACA has fended off right-wing attacks and has been embroiled in court battles over its legality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the program\u2019s latest setback, Texas federal judge Andrew Hanen ruled on Sept. 13 that the Biden Administration\u2019s 2022 attempt to formalize DACA was unlawful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to the ruling, the non-profit Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund held a press briefing on Sept. 15, inviting a panel of experts to weigh in on the ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Hanen\u2019s ruling disallows new DACA applications, renewals for current DACA recipients are still allowed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hanen\u2019s ruling also comes as a result of a Texas-led, multi-state challenge to DACA. But in that multi-state challenge, Texas has been the only one to claim that it was injured by DACA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur argument is that Texas has never shown any evidence that it was injured by DACA,\u201d said Nina Perales, MALDEF\u2019s V.P. of Litigation. However, Hanen threw out MALDEF\u2019s litigation, despite that lack of evidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaby Pacheco, a longtime Dreamer advocate and former DACA recipient who is now with the undocumented student scholarship program, The Dream.US, spoke to the emotional impact this ruling has on Dreamers and DACA recipients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe all know dreamers are extremely resilient individuals who have shown remarkable determination despite the challenges they face,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just disheartening that we have to continue to live case by case. It\u2019s been 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pacheco described the frustration, fear and exhaustion among the DACAmented people she knows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey are in a roller coaster ride of emotions. And they have to experience \u2014 they\u2019ve been experiencing \u2014 this ongoing legal battle,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cAnd for me, I feel it\u2019s not just cruel, but it\u2019s also heartwrenching that Congress and others that have the power to do something, haven\u2019t done something yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pacheco\u2019s message to Dreamers and the DACAmented: \u201cI want them to know that they\u2019re more than a piece of paper. I want them to know that their worth is not tied to their status. That they\u2019re not alone. That there are millions of people that support them and that are advocating for them. And that this decision is not the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MALDEF partner attorney, Doug Hallward-Driemeier with Ropes & Gray LLP, said they plan to appeal Hanan\u2019s ruling, which is due within 60 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will continue to fight this fight as before,\u201d Hallward-Driemeier. \u201cThere are arguments for us to make at the court of appeals, we will pursue those arguments both in the court of appeals and if necessary, seek review by the Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than a decade has passed since the establishment of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The program, issued by Obama in 2012, gave thousands of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children a chance at life out of the shadows. For most of that time, DACA has fended off right-wing attacks and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":57697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3576],"tags":[3843,2240,24531],"coauthors":[18473],"class_list":["post-57695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-immigration-news","tag-daca-en","tag-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals","tag-texas-judge","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n