Obama-Biden Legacy Takes Major Hit After Federal Court Rules Against Amnesty Program
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against a controversial Obama-era immigration policy that provides amnesty and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled unanimously that the latest version of the policy which was issued by President Biden in 2022, is illegal and unconstitutional. The decision — which was made by two Republican-appointed judges and one Democrat — provided yet another blow to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly referred to as DACA.
The amnesty policy has faced intense legal scrutiny since it was unilaterally implemented by then-President Barack Obama in 2012. Despite the fact that the constitution grants power to Congress to establish immigration policy, Obama sidestepped the legislature and implemented the sweeping policy via executive order, citing Congress’ inaction on legislation that would provide a path to citizenship children of illegal immigrants.
Despite Friday’s ruling, the policy is set to remain in place. Current DACA recipients can still renew temporary work permits to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation. While the status quo will remain, the federal government will be prohibited from issuing new applications going forward, according to a report from Fox News.
Friday’s decision will open the door for DACA to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court for the third time, however.
In 2021, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen declared the ruling illegal in response to a lawsuit brought by nine Republican-controlled states. Hanen ruled that the program had not been subjected to public notice and comment periods required under the federal Administrative Procedures Act.
The Biden Administration attempted to amend the policy with a new version that took effect in October 2022. Judge Hanen was still unsatisfied with the changes in a subsequent ruling, even though the new DACA program contained public notice and comment periods.
The Bush-appointed judge ruled that the updated version of DACA was still illegal, as the Biden administration’s new version of the policy was essentially the same as the one introduced by President Obama in 2012. Judge Hanen had previously stated that the policy was unconstitutional.
DACA has twice been challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court and will likely be debated once again as a result of Friday’s ruling. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led the challenge on behalf of Republican-led states, praised the latest decision as a “major victory.”
“I look forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump to ensure that the rule of law is restored, and the illegal immigration crisis is finally stopped,” Paxton said.
President Trump attempted to end DACA in his first term, though the Supreme Court remained deadlocked over an expanded DACA and a variation of the program for parents of beneficiaries. As a result, a lower court decision that blocked the program’s benefits expansion in place.
In 2020, the nation’s highest court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration improperly ended DACA by failing to follow federal procedures, which allowed it to stay in place. Trump has suggested that he will attempt to end DACA once again in his second term, though he has also left the door open to using it as a negotiating tool for comprehensive immigration reform.
