Federal Judge Deals Huge Blow To Barack Obama, Rules DACA Was “Illegally Implemented Program”
U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, a Republican appointee, just dropped the hammer on Barack Obama with a ruling that will tarnish his legacy. The judge sided with Texas and other states ruling that President Barack Obama overstepped his executive authority when he created the DACA program in 2012. Biden was Vice President at the time.
Republican officials from Texas and other states sued demanding an “orderly wind down” of the DACA program. The winning argument they made was that it was unlawful and an unfair burden on states to pay for health care, education, and law enforcement resulting from Obama’s overreach.
Hanen’s ruling called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an “illegally implemented program.” He said, “the public interest of the nation is always served by the cessation of a program that was created in violation of law and whose existence violates the law.”
But, there is always a but with the lawyers and judges, Hanen said he would not take the DACA program away from those who are currently using it to live and work here.
“Hundreds of thousands of individual DACA recipients, along with their employers, states, and loved ones, have come to rely on the DACA program,” Hanen wrote.
“Given those interests, it is not equitable for a government program that has engendered such a significant reliance to terminate suddenly.
“This consideration, along with the government’s assertion that it is ready and willing to try to remedy the legal defects of the DACA program indicates that equity will not be served by a complete and immediate cessation of DACA.”
Hanen did issue a permanent injunction vacating the memo that created DACA in 2012.
BREAKING — A federal judge in Texas has ordered the Biden administration to suspend the DACA program for "Dreamers." finding it illegal.
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) July 16, 2021
Agreeing to a request by Texas, Judge Andrew Hanen is ordering the government to stop approving new DACA requests. Follow @CBSNews for more. pic.twitter.com/RmFTD0ldW9
A federal judge just ended new applications for the DACA program.
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) July 16, 2021
A pathway to citizenship in the reconciliation bill just got that much more important. pic.twitter.com/ElXFDPF37m
BREAKING: A federal judge in Texas just declared DACA unconstitutional, blocking new applicants.
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) July 16, 2021
This politically-motivated decision is why Congress must pass a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers now.https://t.co/Qtl0Y9d59B