Joe Biden and Barack Obama Call For Congress to Take Action After Court Puts Another Halt to DACA

We reported on Friday that a federal judge put another halt on new applications to the DACA program that was put in place under former President Barack Obama and called its initial enactment illegal.

The former president along with his former vice president and current President Joe Biden called for Congress to take action on the matter.

Biden’s statement:

In 2012, the Obama-Biden Administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to remain in the United States, to live, study, and work in our communities. Nine years later, Congress has not acted to provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers.

Yesterday’s Federal court ruling is deeply disappointing. 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. The Department of Justice intends to appeal this decision in order to preserve and fortify DACA. And, as the court recognized, the Department of Homeland Security plans to issue a proposed rule concerning DACA in the near 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. I have repeatedly called on Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act, and I now renew that call with the greatest urgency. 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.

Read my full statement:

https://t.co/mClnWjyYXd

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 17, 2021

Obama said in a tweet:

“For more than nine years, DREAMers have watched courts and politicians debate whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the only country many of them have ever known. It’s long past time for Congress to act and give them the protection and certainty they deserve.”

For more than nine years, DREAMers have watched courts and politicians debate whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the only country many of them have ever known. It’s long past time for Congress to act and give them the protection and certainty they deserve.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 17, 2021

On Friday, we reported:

In what U.S. House Rep Andy Biggs (R-AZ) declared to be a “huge win,” a federal judge in Texas today ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is illegal and halted new applications.

The ruling will not cancel current applications, but has thrown a wrench in the plan of liberals, who would like to expand the program.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen sided with a group of states suing to end program and argued that it was illegally created by former President Barack Obama in 2012.

Biggs tweeted out about the decision, “Huge win! DACA was enacted illegally, it’s time for a permanent solution.”

In March, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that his department would issue a formal regulation to strengthen the legal standing of the DACA program, but the agency has yet to do so.

Last June, the Supreme Court repealed a decision from the Trump administration to rescind the program in a 5-4 decision.