(UnitedVoice.com) – When former President Barack Obama took office, he had control of the House and the Senate. In 2010, nearly two years into his first term, the Senate took a vote on the DREAM Act to protect immigrants who arrive in the US illegally as children. Democrats in the Senate killed the bill. Five members of the Left voted against it; had they shown unity, the legislation would have passed. Instead, it died 55-41.
In 2012, Obama used an executive order to unilaterally protect DREAMers and implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. More than a decade later, a federal judge has now ruled the policy is illegal — again.
New Ruling
President Joe Biden attempted to codify the DACA program. In doing so, he circumvented Congress, just like his former boss did in 2012. Republicans in several states sued the Biden administration, and on September 13, US District Judge Andrew Hanen issued a ruling declaring the policy unlawful.
This is the second time he has issued a ruling against DACA. According to The Associated Press, the judge stated that he was “sympathetic” to DACA recipients and their loved ones but there have been “concerns about the legality of the program for some time.” He went on to explain that the president exceeded his power when he put the program in place, emphatically stating the POTUS was not allowed to “usurp the power bestowed on Congress by the Constitution — even to fill a void.”
In 2021, Hanen issued a similar ruling. In both cases, he suspended new applicants from being approved for the program but allowed those currently protected by it to continue to have their status renewed.
What Happens Next?
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump did not follow proper protocols when rescinding the program. The justices kept DACA in place. However, they did not rule on whether or not it was legal.
The Biden administration is going to appeal Hanen’s ruling. First, it will have to go to the Fifth Circuit, but that court has also ruled against the policy in the past. Ultimately, there’s an expectation that the case will go before the Supreme Court again, where the justices will decide once and for all whether the program is legal.
The other solution to the issue would be Congress passing the DREAM Act and protecting those who arrived in the country as minors. There was once bipartisan support for the program, but it has never come as close to passing as it did in 2010. While the Left blames the Right for their failure to pass it, congressional records tell a different story.
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