MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) will hold a press briefing to discuss the oral argument in a case in which Texas and seven other states challenge the legality of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).
MALDEF attorneys and other counsel will present oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans on October 10, 2024. Following the hearing, MALDEF attorneys and others will hold a press briefing to discuss what happened in court.
DACA was initiated in 2012. In response to the 2018 Texas-led suit, MALDEF intervened on behalf of DACA recipients to defend the program. In 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that the Biden Administration’s DACA regulation is unlawful.
MALDEF appealed Judge Hanen’s ruling and argues that the plaintiff states failed to prove injury from DACA’s implementation and that the DACA regulation is a lawful exercise of presidential discretion.
What: Press briefing on upcoming federal hearing in Texas v. United States
Who: MALDEF attorneys and co-counsel, and a representative of the DACA community.
When: October 10, 2024, 10 a.m. PT/Noon CT/1 p.m. ET
Dial in: 800-225-9448 Primary or 203-518-9708 Alternate; Conference ID: MALDEF
Read more about the history of challenges to DACA here.
Read an FAQ about the case here.
The Center for American Progress shared this memorandum in advance of teh oral arguments:
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Tom Jawetz, Debu Gandhi, and Rosa Barrientos-Ferrer, Center for American Progress
DATE: October 8, 2024
SUBJECT: What to know ahead of the DACA Case Before the 5th Circuit on Oct. 10
On Thursday, October 10, the Fifth Circuit will hear oral arguments in Texas v. United States, the lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) authority to establish the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy through rulemaking. Until recently, the same Fifth Circuit panel also was scheduled to hear an appeal in Texas v. Department of Homeland Security, a separate lawsuit challenging DHS’s authority to establish the Keeping Families Together parole policy. Late Friday night, the Fifth Circuit in an unsigned opinion removed that case from the calendar after affirming the district court’s ruling denying the ability for potential beneficiaries of the policy to intervene in the case and appear as parties. Although the issues presented in these cases are different, two things are clear. First, Republican attorneys general led by Texas remain focused on undermining common sense, legal immigration solutions that keep families together and grow our economy. And second, the stakes are extremely high.
About the Case: Texas v. U.S.
In the 12 years since the creation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the policy has been a catalyst for positive change in the lives of recipients, helping them reach educational milestones, contribute to the economy, achieve financial stability, and improve their families’ overall well-being. Yet the future of DACA and the lives of DACA recipients remain uncertain, with DACA’s protections facing the threat of extinction due to ongoing litigation led by Republican attorneys general.
In September 2023, a federal district court in Texas concluded that the Biden administration’s regulation establishing DACA was unlawful and permanently enjoined the rule; the court partially stayed its order to allow current DACA recipients to continue renewing their protections. On October 10th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana, will hold oral arguments on an appeal of that ruling. In addition to challenging the district court’s ruling on the merits, the appellants are also challenging the ability of Texas to establish that it has standing to challenge the rule in the first place.
It is unclear when the Fifth Circuit might issue its decision and whether, in the event of a ruling against DACA, the court would lift the partial stay of the lower court’s ruling and prevent the Department of Homeland Security from granting further renewals to current DACA recipients. The elimination of DACA could force over 500,000 current DACA recipients to be stripped of their ability to work legally and expose them to the threat of deportation. A ripple effect that will reach far beyond the lives of DACA recipients, impacting their families and communities as well.
How DACA Improves the Lives of Recipients, their Families, and their Communities
For the last nine years, Professor Tom K. Wong of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego, has partnered with United We Dream, the National Immigration Law Center, and the Center for American Progress to conduct a national survey to document and analyze the experiences of DACA recipients. The latest DACA survey findings reveal DACA’s role in empowering individuals and communities while strengthening the U.S. economy and highlighting the need for a pathway to citizenship.
Accessing better opportunities
- Our research shows that as a result of getting DACA, recipients are able toaccess better educational and employment opportunities.
Financial independence and security
- DACA has helped recipients and their families become more economically independent and financially secure.Survey respondents’ average hourly wage more than doubled from $11.92 to $31.52 per hour—an increase of 164.4 percent—after receiving DACA. According to the data, respondents’ average annual earnings total approximately $67,050, and their median annual earnings total $58,240. This is beneficial for recipients, their families, and the U.S. economy.
- With work authorization, DACA recipients have access to career advancement, better wages, benefits, and opportunities to find better career fits. Among respondents, 94.1 percent are currently employed. Since receiving DACA, recipients’ average hourly wage has more than doubled from $11.92 to $31.52 per hour.
Potential loss of DACA
- Legal challenges to DACA have had a negative effect on recipients. For many DACA recipients, the United States is the only home they’ve ever known. CAP research has found that many are afraid for their and their families’ safety if DACA is rescinded. The possibility of DACA coming to an end is creating uncertainty and anxiety, because the wellbeing and security of DACA recipients and their families are on the line.
- As DACA recipients have begun building families and becoming parents and grandparents, concerns about family separation have intensified. Survey data revealed that 32.9 percent of respondents are parents. Among them, 70.7 percent reported that they think about being separated from their children because of deportation at least once per day, while 67.6 percent reported thinking about not being able to see their children grow up because of deportation at least once per day.
DACA Recipients Strengthen the U.S. Economy, Social Security and Medicare
DACA Recipients Bolster Social Security and Medicare
A Path to Citizenship Would Further These Gains and Grow the U.S. Economy
Keeping Families Together Parole is a Smart and Lawful Way to Strengthen American Families
Until late Friday night, the Fifth Circuit was also scheduled to hear oral arguments in Texas v. Department of Homeland Security, another case in which Republican officials from Texas and a handful of other states are challenging an immigration policy that offers a measure of protection to undocumented individuals who have resided in the United States for many years. This case pertains to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Keeping Families Together parole policy, which allows certain noncitizen spouses and noncitizen stepchildren of U.S. citizens to request parole in place under existing statutory authority.
The issue on appeal was whether the district court erred in refusing to allow 11 potential beneficiaries of the policy and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) to intervene in the case as defendants alongside the DHS. The federal government and potential intervenors also had asked the Fifth Circuit to lift its own order extending an “administrative stay” issued by the district court that was preventing DHS from granting individuals parole under the policy during the pendency of the litigation.
In an unsigned, per curiam opinion, the Fifth Circuit panel summarily affirmed the district court’s order denying intervention, blocking the people whose lives would most directly be affected by the Keeping Families Together parole initiative an opportunity to appear in court as parties in the litigation challenging it. The Fifth Circuit additionally lifted its stay on further proceedings in the district court and also lifted its extension of the district court’s now-expired “administrative stay.” Within hours, the district court reimposed an “administrative stay” on parole grants for an additional period of more than one month even though it has yet to consider the four factors required for issuance of such an injunction (i.e., plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm to plaintiffs in the absence of an injunction, balance of the equities and hardships, and the public interest).
The Keeping Families Together parole policy would ensure greater stability for families and employers and increase tax revenues, which will grow the economy. This policy would provide security to hundreds of thousands of families facing the fear of separation from their loved ones.
Parole processes–and parole in place–are legal
- The Immigration and Nationality Act grants the Secretary of Homeland Security the discretionary authority to “parole into the United States temporarily under such conditions as he may prescribe only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit any [noncitizen] applying for admission to the United States.”
- In 2019, Congress “reaffirmed” the importance of the Secretary’s parole in place authority.
- Many past and current parole processes have recognized preserving family unity and reducing the fear and anxiety of separation as the types of significant public benefits that can be advanced through the use of parole.
CAP Resources on DACA:
CAP Resources on Parole Authority:
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Jasmine Razeghi at [email protected]
KJ
October 8, 2024 in Current Affairs | Permalink
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