DACA at Risk Again, When Will Congress Act?

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments regarding the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The arguments come after District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that DACA is unlawful in September 2023. If the Court of Appeals upholds the district court’s ruling, the case will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.  

Erika Andiola, Communications Director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights released the following statement:  

Today the appellate judges that will hear this case face a stark and historic choice: they can protect American families by upholding DACA or they can choose to help anti-immigrant extremists carry out a family separation plan that will upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, many the parents of U.S. citizen children who contribute in countless ways to our society and communities. 

For 12 years, DACA has transformed the lives of immigrant youth across the country, demonstrating the immense value of allowing people to work, to live without fear of deportation, and the opportunity to build a future for themselves, their families and communities. They deserve freedom, not to live in a constant state of limbo and anxiety over what will come next.  

If DACA ends, nearly 1 million U.S. citizen family members, including 90,000 spouses and 300,000 children of DACA recipients, could face separation from a loved one who is protected by DACA if these anti-immigrant efforts prevail. The loss would be unconscionable. 

With the program’s future in the hands of the Fifth Circuit and anti-immigrant bills in effect across the country, we must protect immigrant youth and all immigrant communities from attacks and harmful legislation that hurts our immigrant communities and neighbors, and the American people. The Biden Administration and Congress must defend DACA recipients and the thousands of people who were shut out from the program. The truth is that Congress does not have to wait for the courts to rule on the DACA program to deliver on their promise to create a path to citizenship for immigrant families.” 

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The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first.