While the Supreme Court in June 2020 ruled against the previous administration’s attempt to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, it didn’t mark the end of GOP-led litigation against the popular and successful policy. Nearly a year ago, a notoriously anti-immigrant judge ruled against the program following a lawsuit from corrupt Texas attorney general Ken Paxton.
President Biden later appealed that decision, and oral arguments were heard in a New Orleans court this week. The sad reality is that the administration, and hundreds of thousands of program beneficiaries, are almost certain to lose this round. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is as conservative as it gets, with two of the three judges who heard arguments on Wednesday appointed by the insurrectionist former president.
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But this reality did not stop nearly 100 DACA recipients and their allies from traveling to Louisiana to make their voices heard. “Growing up in AZ has taught me that we can hold pain & hope,” tweeted DACA recipient Reyna Montoya. “As we prepare to hear the arguments coming from the #DACA case know your matter, you’re worthy & you’re not alone.”
Gaby Pacheco, director of advocacy, development, and communications for scholarship fund TheDream.US, told CNN that a number of DACA recipients were able to witness oral arguments. "When the judges entered the room, we all stood up and I got the opportunity to look back and look at some of the DACA recipients in the room,” she said in the report. “Their faces were not just of determination, but also anxiety and heartache. We're talking about a whole decade of an extremely successful program."
Mimicking a powerful moment following oral arguments at the Supreme Court in 2019, undocumented people walked out of the John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building clasping arms.
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“Texas—in its lawsuit originally brought along with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, and West Virginia—argues that the program placed an undue burden on the states and amounted to executive overreach,” CNN reported. It’s rich (pun intended) that Texas is lecturing on fiscal responsibility and overreach, considering how much it's wasted on illegal border stunts. But Texas is also full of shit, because DACA recipients pay $495 every two years to be a part of the program, in addition to the taxes they pay to state and federal governments.
“It was absolutely frustrating to hear Texas lawyers argue that DACA costs money to Texas without real evidence, but we knew this was coming,” tweeted DACA recipient Erika Andiola.
Hanen’s decision last summer halted all new applications (leaving tens of thousands of first-time applicants in limbo), but allowed renewals to continue. Andiola said that while renewals can continue, and a decision from the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals may not come for months, “[t]here is a very real possibility that the program can end with this ruling. There’s also possible they keep it and goes to the Supreme Court.”
“The chances of DACA ending before the end of the year are high & Congress is not doing ANYTHING to push Dream or other legislation to protect those of us who would lose protection,” she continued. This is true: while the U.S. House under Speaker Nancy Pelosi passed the Dream and Promise Act more than a year ago, it has not advanced in the U.S. Senate. One message was clear in New Orleans, and from immigrants and allies around the country: Leaders must step up and stop delaying permanent relief for undocumented communities.
“Having citizenship status means that I would be able to finish my studies and fulfill the promise I made to my parents,” said DACA recipient Briseyda Bautista Gonzalez in a statement received by Daily Kos.”Not only that, but it would ensure the safety of my family not getting deported. They’ve worked so hard and have done so much for me to be at the point where I am today.” Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream, said “we need the courts to do the right thing and find DACA legal, and our elected leaders to pass permanent legislation so that we are no longer living court case to court case.”
“DACA is fully legal, and attorneys made those points repeatedly inside the courtroom today,” said Justice Action Center Karen Tumlin in a statement received by Daily Kos. “More importantly, DACA is the morally right thing for our country. While this may have been lost in the legal discussion today, it is not lost on each of us who know and love DACA recipients, and those waiting to be part of the program.”
“We also know that DACA is not—and never has been—enough,” Tumlin continued. “Immigrants need the security and permanence to live their lives fully in the communities they love.”
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