2:49
- ABC News
- July 17, 2021
DOJ to appeal DACA ruling: Biden
A federal judge on Friday ruled that the program is unlawful.
2:49
In line with both president's, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in a tweet, said it was \"more important than ever for Congress to pass permanent protections for Dreamers and provide a pathway to citizenship,\" while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will pursue \"any and all paths\" to send the American Dream and Promise Act to Biden's desk.
Former President Barack Obama on Saturday also focused on Congress' role in failing to provide Dreamers with legal protection.
\"For more than nine years, DREAMers have watched courts and politicians debate whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the only country many of them have ever known,\" he said in a tweet. \"It’s long past time for Congress to act and give them the protection and certainty they deserve.\"
For more than nine years, DREAMers have watched courts and politicians debate whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the only country many of them have ever known. It’s long past time for Congress to act and give them the protection and certainty they deserve.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 17, 2021
DACA was created by Obama in 2012 to provide relief for the growing population of undocumented immigrant minors, sometimes called Dreamers, who had little to no say in their immigration process due to their youth. It's estimated there are about 650,000 people who hold DACA status, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Lawyers with the Texas Attorney General's Office argued that the Obama administration overextended its executive authority in creating the program. They were joined in the lawsuit by Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which represented a group of DACA recipients in defending the program, argued in a prior hearing on the matter that Texas shouldn't be successful in its lawsuit because none of the states were harmed by the existence of DACA.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/daca-dreamers-immigration-supreme-court-04-zp-llr-210716_1626475442323_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
The DACA program has maintained bipartisan political support even as Republican-led states have moved to end it. A solid majority -- 75% -- of Republicans favor allowing recipients the chance to obtain citizenship along with 92% of Democrats, according to a 2018 Gallup survey.
Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said DACA is the only way the president can exercise discretion.
\"When you're dealing with the number of people that the immigration system has to deal with, you have to make resource decisions,\" Saenz said. \"It's hard to imagine an efficient way of doing it otherwise.\"
The Biden administration could act to change the program in a way that would satisfy Hanen’s ruling, but still, the future for many DACA recipients will likely face the Supreme Court once again.
ABC News' Ben Siegel and Justin Fishel contributed to this report.
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