Biden promises to appeal immigration ruling, urges Congress to act
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[July 19, 2021]
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden
on Saturday vowed to preserve a program that protects from deportation
hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as
children, promising to appeal a judge's "deeply disappointing" ruling
invalidating it and urging Congress to provide them a path to
citizenship.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen on Friday ruled in favor of a group of
states led by Republican-governed Texas that sued to end the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Hanen concluded that
Democratic former President Barack Obama exceeded his powers when he
created DACA in 2012 by executive action, bypassing Congress.
People protected under DACA are often called "Dreamers," based on the
name of a proposed immigration overhaul that failed to pass Congress.
Biden said in a statement that the Justice Department will appeal
Hanen's ruling. The Democratic president also said the Department of
Homeland Security, which oversees immigration issues, will soon issue a
new regulation intended to strengthen DACA's legal standing.
Hanen, a Texas-based judge appointed by Republican former President
George W. Bush, found that DACA violated a federal law called the
Administrative Procedure Act when it was created. Hanen said that
because large numbers of people are enrolled in the program - nearly
650,000 - his ruling would be put on hold temporarily, but suspended new
DACA applications.
"Yesterday's federal court ruling is deeply disappointing," Biden said.
"While the court's order does not now affect current DACA recipients,
this decision nonetheless relegates hundreds of thousands of young
immigrants to an uncertain future."
"But only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to
citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability
that these young people need and deserve," added Biden, who was vice
president when Obama created DACA.
The road to congressional action is complicated. Democrats control the
Senate and House of Representatives by slim margins. The 100-seat
Senate, which under a rule called the filibuster requires 60 votes to
advance most legislation, is split 50-50, with Democrats in charge only
because Vice President Kamala Harris wields a tie-breaking vote.
Democrats are expected to include a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers
in a $3.5 trillion spending package that could pass the Senate by a
simple majority under a procedure called reconciliation.
"It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means,
Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived
too long in fear," Biden added.
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President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the administration's
continued drawdown efforts in Afghanistan in a speech from the East
Room at the White House in Washington U.S., July 8, 2021.
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said
Hanen's ruling would not derail the Biden administration's efforts
to protect Dreamers from deportation. "DHS remains focused on
safeguarding DACA," Mayorkas said in a statement, adding that his
department will continue to process DACA renewal requests
"consistent with the ruling."
Obama created DACA to protect young immigrants who had lived in the
United States illegally after being brought into the country as
children. He acted after bipartisan immigration legislation called
the DREAM Act failed to pass Congress.
DACA protects recipients from deportation, grants them work
authorization and access to driver's licenses, and in some cases
better access to financial aid for education. It does not provide a
path to citizenship. People protected under DACA primarily are young
Hispanic adults born in Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Republican former President Donald Trump, who took a hard line
toward immigration, sought to rescind DACA in 2017, but the U.S.
Supreme Court last year blocked his move https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-immigration/u-s-supreme-court-thwarts-trump-plan-to-end-dreamers-immigrant-program-idUSKBN23P2HM
as unlawfully "arbitrary and capricious."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans an early test for the
reconciliation approach on Wednesday, trying to gather united
Democratic support.
"We can't let the future of #DACA recipients hang in the balance.
The time to act is now. This Senate will work to provide a pathway
to citizenship for our Dreamers," Schumer wrote on Twitter on
Friday.
Some liberal lawmakers and activists have called for eliminating the
filibuster, which Senate Republicans have used to block Democratic
priorities.
Republican opponents of DACA praised the judge's ruling.
Andy Biggs, a conservative congressman and Trump ally from the
border state of Arizona, described Hanen's ruling on Twitter as a
"huge win!"
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Will Dunham)
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