Federal Judge Rules Biden Administration’s Effort to Codify DACA Policy Illegal

A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Judge Andrew Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that a Biden administration effort to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy into a federal regulation was unlawful.

The DACA program was created in 2012 by an Obama administration memo and provides deportation protections and work permits for 580,000 immigrant “Dreamers.” The ruling was made at the request of Republican-led states.

Judge Hanen barred the government from approving any new applications, but left the program intact for existing recipients during the expected appeals process. This is the third time the program’s fate will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Hanen was appointed to the bench by former Republican President George W. Bush. He issued a similar ruling in 2021, when he found that the original Obama administration memo that created DACA in 2012 was illegal.

The Biden administration has expressed its commitment to protecting Dreamers and has promised to continue to fight for the program in the courts. The Supreme Court is expected to make a final ruling on the legality of the DACA program in the coming months.