Obama-era program to protect immigrant children illegal: US court

(PTI) Houston, Dt

A federal judge in a Texas court in the United States has declared an Obama-era immigration program illegal and barred new applications under the program. The Obama-era DACA program protected more than six million illegal immigrants from deportation, including thousands of Indians. The Texas court ruling will hurt Biden's efforts to protect those he calls "dreamers." Obama introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012.

The then President Barack Obama's DACA program protects illegal immigrants entering the United States as minors from deportation and allows them to work in the country. Accepting the request of Texas and six other Republican-led states, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hahn said in his ruling that then-President Barack Obama's administration had crossed the line by creating such a program.

Hahne argued that Congress did not allow the Department of Homeland Security to create the DACA program. The court also barred immigration officials from removing the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act under the program. The court said the policy was implemented illegally. However, the court's ruling has no effect on the status of current immigrants under the DACA.

Hahne said Congress has not allowed the executive branch to create a program that goes beyond the legal limits. The agency's interpretation of the status was very broad and these laws do not allow the federal government to create such a program. The DAC allows more than one million people who have not been provided by Congress and have consistently refused to do so to remain legal and work.

The Texas Tribune reported that the court ruled in a 2012 lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and eight other states against the federal government. The states complained that providing health facilities, education and legal protection to the people living in their state under the DACA program is putting an extraordinary burden on them.

The program, introduced by former President Barack Obama, was blocked by Republican President Donald Trump's administration. But Democrat President Joe Biden ordered the program to be strengthened. Last year, former President Donald Trump's efforts to end the DACA were blocked by the US Supreme Court.

More than 200,000 people across the country, including 1,01,60 in Texas, are covered under the DACA. Texas has the highest number of people living under the DACA after California, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The ruling will ban new applications for DACA while the status of thousands of people currently approved will be uncertain.