An appeals court found illegal a landmark program from the era of former President Barack Obama that protects “dreamers,” people who illegally entered the United States as minors, in a ruling that does not disenfranchise its current beneficiaries.
The judges upheld the decision of the trial court, which limits the size of the program and thus freezes any new application, but keeps the status of about 600,000 young people who benefit from it as is.
The Court of Appeal returned the decision to the trial court, specifically to examine the new version drawn up by the Joe Biden administration in August of this program.
President Joe Biden expressed disappointment with the decision, meaning “the lives of dreamers remain on hold.”
In a statement, he said the court’s decision is “the result of continued efforts by Republican states to strip beneficiaries of this protection program and work permits that many have held for more than a decade.”
“It’s time for Congress to take permanent action for the Dreamers, including a path to citizenship,” he added.
Implemented in 2012 under Democratic President Barack Obama, this program aims to protect “Dreamers” who illegally entered the United States as children where they resided from deportation.
But former President Donald Trump canceled it from 2017, opening a period of uncertainty for these young people under 30. In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court threw it back, approving the program.
