, yesterday, the federal court ruled in our DACA lawsuit and unfortunately declined to provide relief to our plaintiffs — nearly 100,000 class members, including first-time DACA applicants whose applications are in limbo and DACA recipients who are seeking to renew their DACA after it lapsed for a year or more.
This result is deeply disappointing, not only for the nearly 100,000 of the total 1.1 million class members we represent, but also to their loved ones and communities. This ruling allows for the federal government to continue to hold pending DACA applications, leaving young immigrants in limbo and without any protections. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.
The hard truth is that the relief we sought from the court could be delivered by the Biden administration. They can direct the Department of Homeland Security to act on DACA applications that are currently stalled — specifically, to resume processing first-time applications up to the point of decision, and to make final decisions on renewal requests for DACA recipients whose previous DACA lapsed a year or more ago.
We are calling on President Biden to use every tool at his disposal to provide the certainty and security that our brave plaintiffs need. Add your name to the petition we will deliver to the White House. >>>
Separate from our case, we are still awaiting a decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on the July 2021 Texas order which forced the federal government to stop granting first-time DACA requests. The fact that 10 years after DACA was announced, immigrant youth are still fighting off baseless, political attacks only underscores the urgent need for Congress to pass a permanent solution and create a pathway to citizenship.
, our efforts to defend immigrant youth in this country will not stop with an unfavorable court ruling or politically motivated attacks. We didn’t stop fighting in 2017 or 2020 when Trump tried ending DACA, and we won’t now. We are in this fight for the long haul— and thank you for also being with us.
¡Sí, se puede!
Marielena Hincapié
Executive Director
National Immigration Law Center
