PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A program started by President Barack Obama in 2012 to protect young immigrants has been ruled unlawful by a federal appeals court. Current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are still protected by the policy, but new applicants are blocked.
As it stands, that affects about 6,000 people in Pennsylvania eligible for the program but not currently enrolled according to the Migration Policy Institute.
If the courts were to scrap DACA rights entirely, another 4,000 people in the state who came to the country illegally as children would lose protection from deportation and the ability to work on the books in the U.S.
“The fact is that no person is illegal. I think that is the heart of it,” said Armando Jimenez, 36, who works for immigrants’ rights as a lead organizer with Make the Road Pennsylvania, based in Allentown.
He came to this country from Mexico when he was 2 years old. He was undocumented through high school. Jimenez was able to go to college in his late 20s while protected under the DACA program.
“It really has given me the opportunity to do new things, take risks without the threat of deportation and family separation looming over my head,” said Jimenez.
Wednesday's ruling by a three judges in the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a federal district judge in Texas should take another look at the program, following revisions to DACA that the Biden Administration adopted in August. The ruling leaves the future of DACA up in the air.
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Texas-based U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen last year declared DACA illegal. He found that the program had not been subjected to public notice and comment periods required under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. But he left the program temporarily intact for those already benefiting from it, pending the appeal.
The new rule takes effect Oct. 31.
“We are organizing to make sure every undocumented person gets full citizenship," said Andy Kang, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC). He says the fight isn’t over.
For years advocates have pressed Congress for immigration reform that would include protections for the so-called Dreamers.
There hasn't been a significant immigration bill passed in Washington since the 1980s.
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“We have been working under the DACA program for several years, and for this court case to potentially take that away, to set them back again where they are not able to move forward in their lives, It will be devastating," said Kang. "Our hope is that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in favor of preserving DACA.”
Jimenez hopes this moment is a rallying cry.
“We are organizing to make sure that every undocumented person gets full citizenship,” he added. “Even though there is a lot of uncertainty, something that is certain is that we will not stop organizing. This is our home. We are not going anywhere.”
The Biden administration intends to appeal the ruling. New Jersey, which intervened to defend DACA, could also choose to appeal.