(LOS ANGELES) – Parties involved in a Texas-led challenge to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) filed court-ordered briefs on Monday about possible next steps in the long-running case.
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the provision of work authorization under DACA is unlawful but limited any injunction to implement that holding to the state of Texas. In July, District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ordered interested parties to file briefs addressing several questions about implementation of the Circuit decision. Current DACA recipients in all states remain eligible to renew their protections and work permits as Hanen considers implementation.
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) intervened in the 2018 challenge to DACA on behalf of 22 recipients, arguing that the administration at that time wouldn’t adequately defend the program. In 2021, Hanen ruled that the program is unlawful and enjoined the federal government from processing new applications.
Please attribute the following statement to MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz:
“The briefs filed this week in response to Judge Hanen’s July order contain the proposals and suggestions by the different parties for resolution of this case. Ultimately, actual implementation plans will be determined and ordered by the court. Thus, no one should interpret these briefs as a definitive indication of how the Fifth Circuit decision will actually be implemented.
“While the federal government provides somewhat detailed indications of how it proposes to withdraw work authorization from DACA holders in Texas and of how it proposes to adjudicate new applications for DACA from throughout the country, including Texas, all of these proposals are just that. They are not an indication of how actual implementation will proceed. For example, MALDEF is concerned that the federal proposals do not adequately account for the reliance interests of current Texas-based DACA recipients with respect to work authorization.
“The bottom line is that Judge Hanen will determine the order he issues with respect to implementation, and that he is likely to reach that decision only after further input from the parties, including intervenor DACA recipients represented by MALDEF, about the proposals filed by the other parties, through a hearing or further briefing to be scheduled.”
Read a timeline of the case HERE.