Status: 06.10.2022 07:30 a.m
A US court has ruled that the “Dreamer” program, which protects young immigrants from deportation from the United States, is illegal. There will be no more new entries in the program. US President Biden was disappointed.
A US appeals court has ruled that the so-called Daca protection program for young undocumented immigrants is illegal. The court upheld a July 2021 court ruling against the program designed by former US President Barack Obama to protect some immigrant children from deportation.
According to the decision, around 600,000 people who are currently in the program will retain their status. However, new entries are no longer possible. US President Joe Biden was disappointed with the decision. In a statement, he called it “high time” that Congress granted those affected permanent protection.
Obama introduced the protection program in 2012
With his 2012 decree, Obama granted the so-called Dreamers limited residency and work permits, but no naturalization rights. Around 700,000 child migrants were protected from deportation from the USA thanks to this regulation (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – Daca).
Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, tried to abolish the Daca regulation in 2017. But after a first long legal battle, the US Supreme Court ruled in June 2020 in a narrow decision that Trump’s government had not provided sufficient justification for this. The program was reinstated in December.
A US federal court in Texas then ruled in July 2021 that Obama had exceeded his powers when he introduced the program by decree at the time. The US government should no longer accept people into the Daca program. However, the judgment should not have any immediate impact on the status of people who have already been accepted into the program. This has now been confirmed by the Court of Appeal.