A decade-old policy protecting immigrants brought to the United States was bolstered Wednesday, when the federal government codified it into regulatory law.
The Department of Homeland Security formally registered a rule regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACAwhich protects children of immigrants brought as minors from deportation and allows them to legally work in the US
The move was widely seen as a legal maneuver to help protect the policy, created 10 years ago this month, as it’s attacked in federal court.
To bolster its legal standing, federal officials rescinded the original memo that created DACA a decade ago and replaced it with a registered federal regulation, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told USA TODAY in an interview.
“We continue to believe in the legality of the program and we believe we’re on even stronger footing now,” he said.
In a statement, President Biden applauded the new rule and called on Congress to create a more permanent solution for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers.
“Dreamers are part of the fabric of this nation,” the statement said. “Many serve bravely in our military. They’ve only ever known America as their home.”
The new rule was formally registered Wednesday in the government’s code of regulations, but won’t take effect until late October.
Unlike the memo that held DACA in place for a decade, the new rule went through a lengthy process that included more than 16,000 public comments, Mayorkas said. Many of the DACA’s original criteria, such as arriving in the United States before the age of 15 and having no criminal record, remain in place.
Last year, a lawsuit filed by Republican-led states prompted a federal judge in Texas to rule DACA was illegal and ordered a freeze on all new applicants while the policy’s merits are decided in court. The decision, which was appealed, put more than 80,000 first-time DACA applicants in a holding pattern. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is expected to rule on the policy this year.
“The goal is to survive the legal challenges that the program faces at the 5th Circuit, which could rule anytime, and eventually at the Supreme Court,” said Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, Washington-based think tank. “Whether codifying the program in a regulation is enough to satisfy those courts’ concerns about the legality of the program remains to be seen.”
President Barack Obama launched DACA in 2012 as a way of protecting immigrants who were brought to the US as children. Recipients enjoy protection from deportation, are allowed to work in the US and are able to receive driver’s licenses, among other benefits. Currently, there are more than 600,000 DACA recipients, who have to reapply for status every two years.
The policy was designed as a temporary relief measure until Congress passed more meaningful immigration reform, after lawmakers failed for more than a decade to pass a bill known as the Dream Act.
Migrant advocates point to DACA as the most sweeping immigration reform since Ronald Reagan’s 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act granted amnesty to nearly 3 million undocumented immigrants.
DACA recipients represent a wide swath of the work force, from activists and college students to journalists, lawyers and entrepreneurs. The DACA-eligible population earned $23.4 billion in 2017, up from almost $19.9 billion in 2015, according to a recent report. More than 93% of DACA-eligible individuals were actively employed in 2017.
“They have grown up here, they have built their lives here and they have contributed to this country’s wellbeing,” Mayorkas said. “We’re committed to doing what we can to preserve and fortify” DACA.
But DACA’s critics denounce the policy as an incentive to more migrants to enter the United States without permission. Former President Donald Trump rescinded the policy, which was later reinstated after the US Supreme Court intervened.
Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis.
www.usatoday.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism