The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in a decision that comes as no surprise, has upheld a lower court ruling finding that executive action taken by the Obama Administration in 2012 creating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program exceeded the President’s authority, and that therefore the DACA program is unlawful.
At the same time, however, the appeals court ruled that current DACA beneficiaries can continue to enjoy their benefits, including work authorization, and can continue to renew their DACA status, while a lower court decides how the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recently finalized DACA regulation impacts the lawfulness of the program.
In essence, the Fifth Circuit’s decision maintains the status quo for now, while once again underscoring the precarious legal status that DACA has lived under since its creation while Congress has continued to dither on whether to enact the program into law.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.