On September 13, 2023, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the Biden Administration’s codification of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) is not legal. The ruling does not prevent DACA beneficiaries enrolled in the program prior to July 16, 2021, to renew their status. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will also continue to accept new applications from first-time, would-be DACA recipients; However, they will not process any new applications.

In the decision, US District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states who sued to stop DACA, noting “[T]he Executive Branch cannot usurp the power bestowed on Congress by the Constitution — even to fill a void." DACA has been challenged historically, as different states continue to argue that the Obama administration did not have the authority to create the program in 2012 because it bypassed Congress. It is now expected that Judge Hanen’s ruling will be appealed and could ultimately end up in the Supreme Court for a ruling on the legality of DACA. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of DREAMERS brought to the US as children continue to live in limbo in the only place they know as home.