DACA Lawsuit: Nine Republican-led states ask judge to block DACA program

Nine republican-led states wants a Texas court to block a federal rule protecting some immigrant children.

Tuesday the states asked a federal judge to block DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The Obama-era program protects nearly 600,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, a group often described as “Dreamers.”

The Biden administration released a rule last year to “preserve and fortify” the DACA program, largely maintaining the criteria for the program. The regulation was released while litigation over previous memos concerning the program was ongoing.

The case sits before Judge Andrew Hanen, of the Southern District of Texas, who ruled in July 2021 that DACA was unlawful and blocked the government from approving new applications for the program. Hanen’s order, however, allowed the program to continue for current enrollees while the case is litigated. That continues to be the case today.

The GOP-led states call the rule unlawful.

DACA has some bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, which remains divided following the 2022 midterm elections.