The revised Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from the Biden Administration has been declared unconstitutional by a Texas court. The original DACA was previously ruled unconstitutional by the same court. The judge ruled the program unconstitutional for reasons such as, DACA was not created by a formal agency process, the Obama administration overstepped their authority because it circumvented Congress, the legislation was not subject to public notice and comment periods that are required, etc.
In 2018, Texas and several other states sued to have DACA struck down because they argued that it brought harm to their states. The judge ruled in favor of the states, and allowed the case to continue. In 2021 the judge ruled the original DACA was illegal and prohibited the government from processing applications. This decision affects anyone in the present or future interested in coming to the United States. The people who have already received the benefits of the program before a certain point are allowed to stay.
The original DACA program was enacted under the Obama administration and allowed children brought to the United States illegally to stay in the country by providing them with work authorization, which could be renewed. While DACA allows people to work in the country, it is not a path to United States citizenship. The Biden administration tried to expand the legislation to include healthcare in the benefits the recipients receive, but that has not been put into effect.
There are those that expect the ruling from the Texas court to go all the way to the Supreme Court. If this were to happen, it would not be the first time DACA was in front of the Supreme Court. In 2017 the Trump administration tried to end DACA, and in 2020 the Supreme Court upheld DACA. The court did this because the Trump administration had not followed the proper procedure in ending the program.
Immigration is a controversial issue in the United States. In places such as New York they are suffering severe consequences from allowing a large amount of immigrants to come into the city. Many of the immigrants are homeless because there is not enough space for them. The situation in states like New York could serve as an argument for states that are opposed to the DACA program or as an example of what happens when not enough resources are dedicated to an important issue. Whatever side you come down on, it is a fact that immigration is a very relevant issue in the United States that has a significant effect on the country.
