- Oct 17, 2011
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For the first time in four years, the federal government plans to begin processing initial applications for DACA, the Obama-era program that grants deportation protection and work permits to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
The move, outlined in a proposal Monday by the Justice Department, would reopen DACA to first-time applicants in every state except Texas. The proposal was filed in response to an ongoing lawsuit in U.S. district court in Brownsville, Texas.
According to the filing, Texas residents who already have DACA could continue receiving protection from deportation* but would no longer qualify for employment authorization.
Lawsuits over DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, have been ongoing since President Trump moved to end the program during his first term.
Under the government’s proposal, DACA recipients who move into Texas would risk losing their legal ability to work, while moving out of Texas could allow them to resume qualifying for a two-year work permit. Unlike beneficiaries in other states, those with DACA in Texas “will not be considered lawfully present” in the U.S., according to the proposal.
In his first term, Trump attempted to shut down the program, but the Supreme Court concluded in 2020 that his administration failed to explain its rationale as required by the Administrative Procedure Act.
In response to the [Texas] lawsuit, [Judge] Hanen imposed a nationwide injunction on new DACA applications in 2021.
The government’s plan is intended to comply with a January order from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals — viewed as the nation’s most conservative — which upheld Hanen’s earlier finding that DACA is unlawful. But the appeals court ruled it only applies in Texas.
*United We Dream has recorded at least 19 current DACA recipients detained by immigration agents in recent months. In one case in Texas, immigration authorities have kept Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago detained despite an immigration judge saying she cannot be deported. “It’s a way of making sure she can’t renew her DACA and then she becomes deportable”
The move, outlined in a proposal Monday by the Justice Department, would reopen DACA to first-time applicants in every state except Texas. The proposal was filed in response to an ongoing lawsuit in U.S. district court in Brownsville, Texas.
According to the filing, Texas residents who already have DACA could continue receiving protection from deportation* but would no longer qualify for employment authorization.
Lawsuits over DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, have been ongoing since President Trump moved to end the program during his first term.
Under the government’s proposal, DACA recipients who move into Texas would risk losing their legal ability to work, while moving out of Texas could allow them to resume qualifying for a two-year work permit. Unlike beneficiaries in other states, those with DACA in Texas “will not be considered lawfully present” in the U.S., according to the proposal.
In his first term, Trump attempted to shut down the program, but the Supreme Court concluded in 2020 that his administration failed to explain its rationale as required by the Administrative Procedure Act.
In response to the [Texas] lawsuit, [Judge] Hanen imposed a nationwide injunction on new DACA applications in 2021.
The government’s plan is intended to comply with a January order from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals — viewed as the nation’s most conservative — which upheld Hanen’s earlier finding that DACA is unlawful. But the appeals court ruled it only applies in Texas.
*United We Dream has recorded at least 19 current DACA recipients detained by immigration agents in recent months. In one case in Texas, immigration authorities have kept Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago detained despite an immigration judge saying she cannot be deported. “It’s a way of making sure she can’t renew her DACA and then she becomes deportable”
