The federal judge barred new DACA applications, saying it was illegal

(CNN) – A federal judge in Texas ruled Friday Postponed action for childhood attendanceThe Obama-era program (known as the DACA), which protects some undocumented immigrants from deportation, is illegal and thus prevents new applicants.

Judge Andrew Hanan’s ruling will prevent future applications, but it will not immediately revoke current permits for hundreds of thousands of people.

Developed in 2012, DACA aims to provide temporary retirement for undocumented immigrants who have been brought to the United States as children, often “dreamers” or “dreamers.”Dreamers”, Many of them are now adults.

But almost a decade since the program was established, the DACA has been one of the only signs of relief for undocumented immigrants seeking to stay and work in the United States.

Appointed by President George W. Bush, Hanen ruled that Congress had failed to give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the power to create the DACA and that it was preventing immigration officials from enforcing immigration and deportation regulations under national law. (A).

“Congress did not give the executive branch free rein to grant legal presence outside the confines of the legal framework,” Hanen wrote.

Congress is the only body that can provide a permanent solution to DACA recipients through legislation, but immigration law has been stagnant for years.

Democrats called on Congress to act immediately.

Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas who served as secretary of housing and urban development under former President Barack Obama, and his twin brother, Julian Castro, called the decision “terrible.”

Terrible results. Dreamers have been living in a state of uncertainty for a very long time. It is time for Congress to provide them with the protection they deserve.

We must pass the Budget Reconciliation Bill. https://t.co/SFWUfGk71r

– Julian Castro (ul Julian Castro) July 16, 2021

“The dreams of hundreds of thousands of young people contributing to the U.S. economy will be put to rest for any good cause. Congress must cross the path to citizenship this year. We can not wait,” Castro said on Twitter.

“Dreamers have been living in uncertainty for a long time. It is time for Congress to give them the protection they deserve. We must pass the Budget Reconciliation Bill,” said Julian Castro.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Representative Bill Baskirel Said on Twitter: “This right-wing judge in Texas is unilaterally trying to stop the DACA program. This decision should be appealed and expelled.”

The White House, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A long legal battle

Hanan’s shocking verdict is the latest dramatic twist on a nearly decade – old DACA project.

The Trump administration tried to keep up Results for DACA in 2017, But the US Supreme Court in June 2020 blocked his attempt.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Trump administration sought to say that no new DACA applications would be accepted and that renewals would be limited to one year instead of two. Another federal judge rejected it and ordered the project to be rescheduled.

The lawsuit was originally filed by Texas – Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia – arguing that the plan placed an unnecessary burden on the states and violated executive power. Hanen heard oral arguments in the case in December.

In his ruling on Friday, Hanen cited an earlier decision by the Supreme Court, citing a majority decision that the courts have the power to review the DACA memorandum. But Hanen also relied on a written disagreement with Judge Clarence Thomas, Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Korsch, saying the DACA was an “illegal program.”

“Judge Thomas noted that the majority failed to create the DACA, an attempt to avoid a politically controversial but legally legitimate decision,” Hanen wrote, adding that in the future ‘the contentious issue may eventually return to the Supreme Court. This court is not something that can be avoided. “

CNN’s Don Berman contributed to the report.