President Joe Biden placed the blame on “MAGA-Republican officials” after a court ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was illegal.
The program, which was implemented under the Obama administration, and allows leniency for children brought to the United States illegally by their parents, also known as “Dreamers,” was ruled illegal by a 5th Circut Court on Wednesday, according to Fox News.
The three-judge panel decided the administration lacked the authority to institute the program.
Biden issued a statement about the court’s decision:
“I am disappointed in today’s Fifth Circuit decision holding that DACA is unlawful. The court’s stay provides a temporary reprieve for DACA recipients but one thing remains clear: the lives of Dreamers remain in limbo. Today’s decision is the result of continued efforts by Republican state officials to strip DACA recipients of the protections and work authorization that many have now held for over a decade.
And while we will use the tools we have to allow Dreamers to live and work in the only country they know as home, it is long past time for Congress to pass permanent protections for Dreamers, including a pathway to citizenship.
My Administration is committed to defending Dreamers against attacks from Republican officials in Texas and other States. This challenge to DACA is just another example of the extreme agenda being pushed by MAGA-Republican officials.”
Currently, there are more than 600,000 illegal immigrants in the United States protected by DACA, and the court said in its ruling that no new applicants could be accepted going forward.
The court did, however, shy away from entirely dismantling the program, which means DACA recipients, will continue to receive the legal protections the program offers.
A Texas federal judge is required to review the program before new applicants can be considered.
“A district court is in the best position to review the administrative record in the rulemaking proceeding and determine whether our holdings as to the 2012 DACA Memorandum fully resolve issues concerning the Final Rule,” the court wrote in it’s decision.