With Fifth Circuit Court Decision Keeping DACA at Risk, Hispanic Federation Urges Congress to Deliver Permanent Protections for Undocumented Immigrants
For Immediate Release: October 6, 2022
Contact: media@hispanicfederation.org
WASHINGTON — The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Texas v. United States affirms that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unlawful, sending the case back to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas for further review in light of the Biden administration’s new DACA rule. Although this ruling, for now, maintains the status for current DACA recipients and allows them to renew, the program remains on shaky ground as its legality will again be decided in a court that has been hostile to immigrants. Hispanic Federation urges Congress to pass permanent protections for DACA recipients and Dreamers once and for all.
“This ruling puts DACA in critical danger. Although it temporarily keeps protections in place for current DACA recipients - allowing them to also renew - first-time DACA applicants, including the 80,000 currently stalled applications, will continue to be blocked. The fate of the entire program remains in jeopardy as it is being sent back for review by U.S. District Court Judge Hanen, who had previously ruled against DACA, stopped new-DACA applications from being processed, and has a history of anti-immigrant rulings. This decision keeps millions of DACA recipients, DACA-eligible youth, and their families in legal limbo, going from one court battle to another, not knowing if they will lose their work permits and protections from deportation. Enough is enough. We need a permanent solution from Congress, and we need it now!
“Life doesn’t wait for court decisions, or Congress to enact legislation to provide immigration protections. The average DACA recipient has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years, and in the past 10 years DACA has enabled them to grow by leaps and bounds. They have businesses, careers, and families of their own. It is unfathomable that DACA-mented individuals, who significantly contribute to the U.S. economy, culture, and community may one day be faced with the decision to permanently leave their U.S. citizen children or, once again, live in the shadows as undocumented individuals so they can raise their children and remain united as a family. Separating these families will go against every single American moral that we should stand for as a nation.
“Anti-immigrant rhetoric and the politicization of our immigrant youth will not stop until our government acts to put forward permanent protections for this population. Our lives and our experiences are intersectional. It is not just the future of undocumented youth at stake; it is the future of immigrant rights, racial justice, reproductive rights, voting rights, and so much more! Hispanic Federation is a pro-immigrant champion, understands the intersectionality of our communities, and will continue the fight to protect our communities from such attacks. We are tired of empty promises and continuous inaction from politicians. Congress must pass permanent protections for DACA recipients and Dreamers now,” said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation.
According to USCIS data, over 400,000 DACA recipients are now between the age of 21 and 31, and over 180,000 are older. These Dreamers strengthen the nation, with the majority contributing over $11.7 billion annually to the U.S. economy. And now, nearly 300,000 U.S.-born children have at least one DACA-recipient parent. At the same time, millions of undocumented people who are also major contributors to the economy never qualified for DACA in the first place.
Over the last decade, DACA has transformed lives and provided deportation protections, work permits, and new opportunities for more than 830,000 participants. Not only does the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision keep more than 600,000 immigrants who currently rely on this program to live, work, and study in the U.S. in limbo, it has exacerbated the fear that they may one day soon lose their work permits and protection of deportation.
