NEW ORLEANS aEUR!” Attorneys trying to save an Obama-era program which prevents deportation of thousands brought to the U.S. as minors, told a federal appels court Wednesday that ending it would severely disrupt the lives and livelihoods of thousands of children who were raised to be tax-paying, productive drivers in the U.S. Economy. More than 100 DACA supporters marched, chanted and waved signs outside the New Orleans Circuit Court of Appeals. They demanded preservation of the program, which protects over 600,000 individuals from deportation and provided a pathway to citizenship for immigrants.
Woojung “Diana”, 22, from New York, stated that she is undocumented and would speak out today. She claimed she was a 1-year old South Korean girl who came to the U.S. in order to get DACA. She said that DACA was the minimum the U.S. government offers immigrant communities, after decades of fighting for basic human right. “DACA was declared illegal by a Texas federal judge last year, but he allowed the program to continue for those who are still benefitting from it.” The U.S. Justice Department supported the program along with advocacy organizations like the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund and a number of large corporations aEUR”, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Apple aEUR”, which claim that DACA recipients are both consumers and workers. Along with eight other Republican-leaning States, Texas argues that DACA wasn’t subject to proper administrative and legal procedures. This includes public notice and comment periods. The states also claim that DACA is financially harmful because it allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country. Brian Boynton, from the Justice Department, stated that DHS has limited resources. It is unable to expel 11 million people from the country. It must decide who it will target first.
DACA supporters have claimed that Texas’ financial injury claims were diminished by Texas waiting six years before challenging the program. The state also claimed that DACA supporters ignored evidence that DACA recipients reduce Texas’ costs, as many of them have jobs with health benefits, own homes, and pay property taxes that support schools. Judge James Ho skepticism was expressed about this point. He noted that more than 20% of DACA recipients had indicated that they would leave Texas if the program was ended. In fact, the survey was included in New Jersey’s legal arguments. Ho again raised questions about whether the responses should not be rejected. Boynton was told by Ho that this is a question about your entire life. This is a very difficult question to answer wrong. Judd Stone, representing Texas, stated that the state has proven that it spends millions on DACA recipients and that ending the program would result in some of those who get that money leaving the state. Stone stated that there is no evidence that either of these numbers are zero. “I am a father to a 10-year old boy, so having DACA revoked would leave me in uncertainty about whether I will be able to take him to his next football match,” Yahel Flores (a DACA recipient) said on Zoom that DACA supporters claimed program beneficiaries are parents of more than a quarter-million U.S. citizens and that 70% of DACA recipients have a U.S. citizen family member. citizen. “DACA has been subject to numerous court challenges ever since President Barack Obama established it in 2012 by executive order. The program was ended by former President Donald Trump. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling found that he hadn’t done it correctly, allowing it to be revived and allowing new applications. The Texas-led lawsuit followed. Chief Judge Priscilla Richardsen, a Trump appointee, was appointed to hear arguments at 5th Circuit. Judge Kurt Engelhardt and Ho were also appointed.
