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The US Department of Justice has filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit challenging a lower court ruling in July that blocked new applications to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
DACA was initiated by the Obama administration in 2012 and allows those brought to the US as children to apply for deferred action and work authorization. There is no legal status provided to an individual by deferred action; instead, it is used to defer the removal of an individual for a certain period of time. Nine states have challenged DACA, arguing that the program creates an economic burden on the states by pitting DACA recipients against citizens and permanent residents for jobs and other benefits.
It was held in the lower court that the creation of the program violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by not following proper notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures in order to adopt DACA in the first place. The court also held that DACA failed the first step in Chevron USA v Natural Res. Def. Council because Congress never delegated to DHS the authority to adopt DACA and that by awarding “lawful presence and work authorization to 1.5 million aliens for whom Congress has made no provision,” DHS crossed the line from administering laws passed by Congress to enact its own legislative policy.
While the order does not immediately end DACA for those already participating in it, it prevents the government from approving new applications. Over 50,000 people have applied for the program, but are not eligible until higher courts resolve the matter.
