The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is in court again, this time in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the Biden administration is appealing a U.S. District Court ruling that the Obama administration did not have the authority to enact it.
DACA was first established in June 2012 through an executive action, not through legislation. It granted work permits and protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
The legality of the program has always been in question, but it is also very much within the power of Congress to pass legislation that formally legalizes it.
Democrats had a majority in both the House and Senate when President Barack Obama was first elected and again when President Biden was elected, yet legalizing the status of immigrants who were childhood arrivals was not a priority either time.
President Donald Trump’s administration tried to terminate DACA but was blocked by federal courts over procedural issues. However, in June 2018, Trump said he would sign legislation to codify the DACA program if it was paired with border security and immigration reform measures he supported. It didn’t happen. In January 2019, Trump offered again to extend protection to DACA recipients in exchange for funding to build the border wall he supported. That didn’t happen either.
