Attorneys representing young immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA, defended the legality of the program before an federal appellate court Thursday in an attempt to keep it alive — as its fate remains uncertain amid a six-year court battle.
At the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, three appellate judges heard arguments over recent efforts by the Biden administration to turn DACA into a federal regulation, hoping to increase the program’s chances of surviving legal challenges in the future.
The Obama-era program was first challenged in 2018, when Texas and eight other Republican-led states sought to end the program after then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to terminate it failed. A Supreme Court ruling kept DACA in place.
Since it was put in place 12 years ago, DACA has allowed eligible young adults who came to the U.S. as children but lack legal immigration status to work and study without fear of deportation.
The Republican states have argued that they have suffered damages and injuries by spending millions of dollars on DACA recipients.
But Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and an attorney representing DACA recipients, said the states have actually not been able to prove this.
“Because of that, we argue that Texas lacks standing to sue and that the case should be dismissed,” Perales told reporters in a press call Thursday afternoon.
The appellate judges gave no indication of when or how they will rule. Perales has said they could rule in a few different ways. The court may dismiss the case, refer it back to the lower court or rule against DACA, which could then be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Thursday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse in support of the program.
María Rocha-Carrillo, 37, of New York, traveled to New Orleans to join the demonstration and attend the hearing. At 3, she was brought to the U.S. by family members who had emigrated from Mexico, where she was born. Having DACA allowed her to get a teaching certificate and build a career in education.
