Biden Pledges to Appeal Ruling against DACA Immigration Program

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The US President Joe Biden, today, Saturday, denounced a federal judge’s decision restricting a program that protects illegal immigrants brought to the country as children and described the decision as "deeply disappointing".

In a statement issued by the White House, Biden said that the Department of Justice will appeal the ruling issued by Judge Andrew Hanen, pointing out that "only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve."

After the ruling was issued on Friday, the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Republicans in the Congress "to join us in respecting the will of the American people and the law, to ensure that Dreamers have a permanent path to citizenship."

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) supporters received a temporary reprieve in June 2020 when the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 vote that the Trump administration had not provided sufficient justification for its attempts to end the program.

It made it clear that it was ruling largely on procedural issues, and left open the possibility of further challenges. Hanen's ruling was limited, however. It is unclear how the nine high court justices might rule if the case again reaches them.

The DACA program, instituted by then-President Barack Obama in 2012, covers around 700,000 people, conferring legal status on them, as well as the right to work. 

Hanen said in his ruling that Obama exceeded his authority when he established the program by an executive order and called it "unlawful".

Hanen pointed out that the government should stop accepting people to the program, yet he added that it can still receive applications and that "nothing in this injunction requires the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice to take any immigration, deportation, or criminal action against any DACA recipient, applicant, or any other individual that either would not otherwise take."

Also, the ruling did not immediately affect the status of people already accepted to the program.

In 2017, the former President Donald Trump, and as part of his bigger attempts to limit immigration, tried to dismantle the program and insisted that Obama had exceeded his constitutional powers.

This sparked a protracted court battle, which brought the case before the Supreme Court last year, and the program was later restored.

Since taking office, Biden has worked to enhance the program and initiate wider immigration reforms.