Obama-era amnesty for Dreamers faces legal challenge in appeals court

On Friday, a federal appeals court rejected an Obama-era policy granting amnesty and a citizenship pathway to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.

In New Orleans, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that a new version of President Biden's 2022 policy exceeded the executive branch's authority. The decision, made by two Republican-appointed judges and one Democratic-appointed judge, is the latest in a series of legal challenges to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has kept 500,000 "Dreamers" waiting for a resolution for over a decade.

Although the decision on Friday does not alter the current situation, program beneficiaries can still renew their temporary permits to reside and work in the United States without the threat of deportation. However, the federal government is still prohibited from issuing new applications.

The decision on Friday presents an opportunity for DACA to be appealed to the Supreme Court for a third time, which happens three days before President-elect Trump takes office and plans to start mass deportations of illegal immigrants.

During his initial term, Trump tried to abolish DACA but simultaneously stated his wish for Dreamers to remain in the U.S.

In 2012, Obama launched DACA, which aimed to provide a legal path to those brought to the U.S. as children, due to Congress' inaction on related legislation. This move sparked legal battles, resulting in two trips to the Supreme Court.

The 2022 update to Biden's policy underwent a formal rule-making process, which included public comment, but did not result in any significant changes.

On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paton, who represented Republican-led states in the challenge, declared a "major victory" with the ruling.

Paxton stated that he is eager to collaborate with President-elect Donald Trump to reinstate the rule of law and put an end to the illegal immigration issue.

Planet Chronicle Digital's request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately responded to.

In 2016, the Supreme Court had one vacancy and was deadlocked 4-4 over an expanded DACA and a version of the program for DACA recipients' parents, keeping in place a lower court decision that benefits were to be blocked. In 2020, the high court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration improperly ended DACA by failing to follow federal procedures, allowing it to stay in place.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.