President Joe Biden lashed out at a federal appeals court on Wednesday, after it ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was illegally implemented by the Obama administration.
In a statement, the president called the decision “unlawful” and urged Congress to make permanent legislative protections to help more than 600,000 immigrants currently protected by DACA.
On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court’s three-judge panel determined the Obama administration lacked the authority to institute the DACA program. However, the court stopped short of judicially dismantling it and said DACA migrants could continue to receive legal protections.
“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,” Biden said.
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES OBAMA-ERA DACA PROGRAM ILLEGAL, BUTS SAYS 600,000 ALREADY IN US CAN STAY
U.S. President Joe Biden in the State Dining Room of the White House October 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“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,” the president added.
“And while we will use the tools we have to allow Dreamers to live and work in the only country they know as home,” Biden continued, “it is long past time for Congress to pass permanent protections for Dreamers, including a pathway to citizenship.”
BIDEN ADMIN MOVES TO STRENGTHEN OBAMA-ERA DACA PROGRAM AMID LEGAL CHALLENGES
The circuit court also ruled the U.S. government could not process new applicants for DACA and ordered a Texas federal judge review the program.
“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.
U.S. President Joe Biden on the South Lawn of the White House October 5, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Biden specifically blamed “MAGA-Republican officials” for the court’s decision as several Republican-led states sued the federal government over the DACA program. Governors allege the program negatively impacts their local economies as they have to foot the bill for DACA recipients’ education and healthcare.
Susana Lujano, left, a dreamer from Mexico who lives in Houston, joins other activists to rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 15, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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“My Administration is committed to defending Dreamers against attacks from Republican officials in Texas and other states,” Biden concluded. “This challenge to DACA is just another example of the extreme agenda being pushed by MAGA-Republican officials.”
The rule takes effect on Oct. 31.
Fox News’ Adam Sabes, David Spunt and Allie Simon, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
