US appeals court rules DACA unlawful ahead of Trump inauguration

A federal US appeals court on Friday held that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) violated US immigration law.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a district court’s decision to block the DACA program, finding it to be unlawfully created. The court emphasized that since Congress had deliberately excluded DACA recipients from the nation’s comprehensive immigration and naturalization framework, “Congress’s rigorous classification scheme forecloses the contrary scheme in the DACA memorandum.” The panel noted that no party has claimed that either the US Supreme Court or an en banc Fifth Circuit court has issued a contrary ruling, nor has Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The court also stated, “Because Texas is the only plaintiff that has demonstrated or even attempted to demonstrate an actual injury, and because that injury is fully redressable by a geographically limited injunction, we narrow the scope of the injunction to Texas.”

In 2022, a panel of Fifth Circuit judges upheld a district court’s decision that held the DACA program illegal. The court prevented individuals from applying to the program but allowed current beneficiaries to renew their status. The panel allowed a stay issued by the lower court to remain in place, keeping the program temporarily alive.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established DACA in 2012 under then-President Barack Obama’s leadership. The program allows certain individuals who immigrated to the US as children, known as “Dreamers,” to request work authorization and deferred action of their removal from the country. Dreamers have also qualified for in-state tuition rates, health care, and other benefits programs. The DHS published a final rule on the matter in 2022, aiming to preserve DACA amid legal challenges against the policy.

The court’s decision came just three days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, raising uncertainty over the future status of Dreamers under his administration. During Trump’s first term in office, he claimed DACA was illegal and announced his plans to end the policy. The US Supreme Court blocked that effort but only on procedural grounds, leaving the policy’s fate hanging in the balance.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated Friday’s ruling, stating:

This is a win for Texas. I am pleased the Fifth Circuit found that the Biden Administration’s DACA policy was unlawful … I look forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump to ensure that the rule of law is restored, and the illegal immigration crisis is finally stopped.