Biden administration issues rule to preserve DACA; activists say more protections are needed
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The Biden administration issued a rule on Wednesday preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program one decade after its implementation. The rule further safeguards hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that the rule maintaining the DACA policy as established will take effect on Oct. 31.
The rule has prompted reactions from local activist groups and community leaders who commend the move from the Biden administration to protect the program, but say a permanent solution for millions of undocumented immigrants in the country must remain a priority.
"This rule is a positive step to protect hundreds of thousands of 'Dreamers,' who contribute to our country in so many ways. But it is not a permanent solution," Laurence Benenson, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, said in a statement released Wednesday. "DACA continues to be under threat in the courts, and only Congress can provide the certainty of legislation."
The rule comes in the wake of Texas v. United States, in which seven states, led by Texas, are challenging DACA, an Obama-era policy that protects undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children as a constitutional program.
In July 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ruled in favor of the lawsuit and signed a permanent injunction, allowing DACA renewal for current recipients but prohibiting its continued operation for new requests.
According to a statement from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the final ruling from the Biden Administration will "preserve and fortify" the policy established in the 2012 Napolitano Memorandum.
According to the statement, the rule will maintain the current threshold criteria, retain the existing process to request work authorization and affirm DACA as a form of deferred action instead of a form of lawful status, allowing recipients to be considered “lawfully present for certain purposes."
“Thanks to DACA, we have been enriched by young people who contribute so much to our communities and our country," Mayorkas said in the statement. "Yet, we need Congress to pass legislation that provides an enduring solution for the young Dreamers who have known no country other than the United States as their own.”
Despite the ruling, DHS is still prohibited from granting new DACA requests or the related two-year work permits as a result of the July 16 injunction.
Everything to know about DACA: Who is eligible and how Dreamers can renew?
'We need a permanent fix'
José Patiño, president of education and external affairs with Aliento AZ, a Phoenix-based immigrant rights advocacy group, said he found the announcement of the new rule "disappointing," and that he believes it shows that the immigrant community is not a priority for the current presidential administration.
"Fundamentally (the rule) doesn't change anything. It's basically the same as in 2012. It's a bit disappointing," Patiño said. "Maybe the program becomes stronger because it is no longer a memo, it is a rule, but it is not a law."
Dulce Matuz, a member of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, which advocates for immigrant students, said if the rule became federal legislation it could help protect the program more effectively from legal challenges it has faced in the past 10 years.
"Since the push and pull started with the program and with the anti-immigrant rhetoric, it has been possible to effectively stop the program for people who although they are eligible, there is no permanent solution," Matuz told The Arizona Republic.
"We need to stop playing around with this issue, and really have legislation at the federal level, because if we don't we will continue with this vicious circle. It's a very difficult way to live," Matuz said. "The rule announced today is the bare minimum — we need a permanent fix."
Rep. Raúl Grijalva said in a statement the rule is "the fulfillment of a promise by President Biden" to offer relief for undocumented immigrants, but more work needs to be done by the Senate to provide a permanent solution for the community.
"It’s time for the Senate to enshrine these protections into law and take legislative action to provide a pathway to citizenship," Grijalva said. "The House has already passed the Dream and Promise Act. It’s time for U.S. Senate to do its job.”
'I don't know if I will be deported': Young immigrants prepare for DACA to end
Reach breaking news reporter Laura Daniella Sepulveda at lsepulveda@lavozarizona.com or on Twitter @lauradNews.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Biden administration takes steps to protect DACA; activists want more
