Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, and Mississippi Seek 2-Year DACA Wind-Down

Photo of Judge Andrew Hanen courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) saga continues.  Britain Eakin for Law360 writes on the latest episode in the attempts of conservatives to dismantle a policy that has provided limited, yet important relief to young undocumented immigrants since 2012.  Recall that the Supreme Court in 2020 held that the Trump administration had unlawfully attempted to rescind the policy.  The Court decided the case on administrative law grounds and did not rule on the lawfulness of DACA. In a summary judgment motion filed earlier this week, several states (Plaintiffs Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, and Mississippi) asked a federal district court to require the Biden administration to wind down the DACA policy within two years.  The basic claim is that DACA is unlawful. A court order currently bars the administration from processing new DACA applications, while permitting the consideration of renewal applications. The Fifth Circuit last October affirmed U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen's July 2021 ruling that DACA was in effect unlawful.  "However, the Fifth Circuit did not weigh in on the Biden administration's rule on the DACA program, saying in its Oct. 5 decision that it lacked an adequate administrative record to determine if the new rule [proposed by teh Biden administration] differed materially from Obama's 2012 memo. The court sent the case back to Judge Hanen for further review, spurring the states' supplemental complaint [and the summary judgment motion]." KJ