WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte released the following statement today as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in State of Texas v. USA, with a decision – likely negative – to be handed down this year:

“Ten years on, the DACA policy has been and is without question an overwhelming success for nearly a million young people and their families. Yet despite this being a massive success—one that all but the most hardline opponents no longer claim is not a success—we are once again seeing anti-immigrant voices running to the courts, and hoping a panel of judges in the Fifth Circuit will end DACA. And because they are pushing to kill DACA, including renewals, right away, we urge DACA recipients to get their renewals in as soon as possible while this is fought in the courts.

“While today’s hearing takes place, we call on Congress to provide Dreamers with a permanent legislative solution, which they have failed to do for two decades. Today’s oral arguments underscore that DACA was only ever meant to be a temporary fix – lawmakers must act immediately to pass a pathway to citizenship to protect DACA recipients, other Dreamers, and the broader undocumented population.”

Background

Texas v. United States concerns the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to be temporarily protected from deportation and access work authorization. Over the course of the past decade, more than 835,000 young people have been protected by DACA. Currently, DACA protects more than 600,000 people.

In July 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas ruled that DACA was illegally implemented and barred the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from approving new DACA requests. Hanen stayed a portion of his ruling, allowing DHS to continue processing DACA renewals while the appeal remains pending. The Biden Administration has asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling.