The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held a three-judge panel ruling against the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program, questioning its legitimacy. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals claimed that the Obama administration presented no legal authority in the formation of the DACA program, and has currently sent the case back to the lower court.
If brought up to the higher Supreme Court, the DACA program may very well come under pressure of Supreme Court justices to act. The future of the DACA program currently remains up in the air until it’s further reviewed.
This decision directly affects community members of Southern states within the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals including the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
In an exclusive interview with President Jane Close Conoley, the president reassured that DACA students at Long Beach State can rest at ease for the time being as precautions are being taken in place to protect and modernize the American view on immigration.
“I was really disappointed, because I worked in Texas, and was at Texas A&M for 10 years … I was hopeful the work the education department had done would convince the judge that it was legal,” Conoley said.
As these events unfold, pertaining to DACA recipients across the country, many individuals worry that this may culminate into another overturned piece of legislation as we saw with Roe v. Wade back in June of 2022.
“It’s shorthand to say we need an overhaul of our immigration laws that give dreamers a pathway to citizenship and, we hope, actually offers DACA like protections,” Conoley said.
Conoley wanted to reassure students and faculty that here, at Cal State Long Beach, students may still keep their DACA protections.
Renewals for the DACA program will still continue to be accepted. Conoley pledged to uphold funding for assistance in paying renewal fees, which rose over $300 with the previous administration, for the estimated 800-900 DACA students through the Dream Success Center.