A federal judge in Texas barred new applications to a program Friday that protects undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.
District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ruled in favor of a group of states, including Texas, suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This Obama-era initiative began in 2012, but the judge said the Obama administration had exceeded its executive authority.
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Consequently, Judge Hanen issued an injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security memo that created DACA but said the nearly 650,000 applicants already being considered could continue.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called it a terrible decision.
“The dreams of hundreds of thousands of young people who are contributing to the American economy will be put on hold for no good reason,” Castro tweeted. “Congress must pass a pathway to citizenship this year. We can’t wait.”
“These individuals are productive members of society and Americans in every way except on paper,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas). “It’s now on Congress to ensure that we codify these protections.”
President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies to “fortify” the program, which the former president tried to end. However, the U.S. Supreme Court said the Trump administration violated the law when it attempted to end the protections.
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