The futures of hundreds of thousands of
Dreamers are once again on the line.
A federal appears appeals court ruled
that the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals program,
also known as DACA, is unlawful.
Now this, as you may recall,
is the program that protects hundreds of
thousands of young adult migrants from
deportation and permits them to work
in the US DACA will continue for now
while the lower court reviews the program,
but it is uncertain what will happen next.
Recent data show there are more than
12,000 DACA recipients in our region.
The Sacramento Metro region is home
to an estimated 5800 DACA recipients.
Another roughly 3400 live in the
Stockton area. And in Modesto,
there are nearly 3000 DACA recipients.
The Biden administration hopes
to make changes to the program.
By the way,
the Department of Homeland Security
moved to codify DACA into federal
regulations just back in August.
But what is on the line?
Let's take a look.
The Obama administration first
established the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals program,
known as DACA, in 2012.
It was created through an executive action.
Daca recipients, also known as Dreamers,
have to renew their status every two years.
The program does not provide
the pathway to citizenship.
Fast forward to 2017,
when former President Trump was in power.
His administration declared
a phasing out of the program.
I'm here today to announce that
the program known as DACA that
was effectuated under the Obama
administration. Is being rescinded.
The University of California became
the first university to sue the
Department of Homeland Security for its
actions alleging rights were violated.
In 2020, the Supreme Court struck
down the Trump administration's
attempt to end the program.
Months later, in 2021,
President Biden began his term.
He moved to strengthen the DACA
program on his first day in office.
But in July of 2021,
a federal judge in Texas
ruled the program unlawful,
saying President Obama exceeded his
powers by creating an immigration.
Program without the approval of Congress.
The Biden administration not
only appealed that decision,
it also tried codifying DACA
into administrative law.
So flash forward to this week,
the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals
agreed with the lower courts ruling
that the program is unlawful,
but said the lower court must review
its decision once again in light of the
Biden administration's efforts to make
DACA into law. It
also allowed the DACA protections
to remain in place for now for
existing recipients, though it shut
the program off to new applicants.
Thursday morning, protesters in Washington,
DC marched in support of DACA.
You know, I've been a DACA recipient
for 10 years now. I am currently 27.
Karen Fierro Ruiz lives in California.
We don't know what's gonna be happening.
We don't have a clear timeline.
And so I'm just thinking of like,
you know, how am I going to be
planning my next couple of months?
She's also the federal policy and
advocacy manager for United We Dream,
which says it's the largest immigrant
youth LED network in the country. Worst
case scenario is that, you know,
we do lose DACA and that we don't have.
Those permanent protections
at the end of the day,
she says DACA recipients should pay
extra attention to their renewal dates
so their status doesn't expire while
the program is in limbo. It's really
important for DACA recipients to
stay informed and to ensure that
the information they're getting
are from reputable resources.
Veronica Garcia is staff attorney with
the immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Now we are waiting to see what happens
at the District Court again around the
final regulation that was issued by
the Biden administration around DACA.
So there. A lot of questions,
a lot of community concerns,
and definitely a need to do a lot of
advocacy for a permanent solution, right?
Because DACA was never meant to be permanent,
she says. She'd like to see federal
lawmakers pass legislation that
makes DACA protections permanent.
For now, it's on thin ice,
as Texas Attorney General Ken
Paxton said after the District
Court ruled DACA unlawful in 2021.
Only Congress has the authority
to write immigration laws,
and the president is not free to disregard
those duly enacted laws as he sees fit.
If you are one of the thousands
of DACA recipients in our area,
we want to hear your story.
Send us an e-mail at to
the point at abc10.com.