LOS ANGELES – Today, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) filed a notice of appeal in a case involving the legality of DACA.
The notice of appeal in Texas v. United States, comes in response to a September ruling by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen. At that time, Hanen concluded that the Biden Administration’s 2022 rule formalizing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was unlawful.
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) and co-counsel Ropes & Gray LLP represent nearly two dozen DACA recipients who intervened in the 2018 Texas-led lawsuit to defend the program because the Trump administration would never have provided a robust defense against the challenge.
MALDEF attorneys have argued that the states failed to prove injury from DACA’s implementation and that the rule is a lawful exercise of presidential discretion.
Under Hanen’s decision, all current DACA holders may continue to renew DACA and work authorization as the case moves forward on appeal.
Please attribute the following statement on today’s notice of appeal to MALDEF President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz:
“Today’s notice is the next step in our long-term defense of DACA. Judge Hanen’s decision is rife with legal error, both as to the wholly illusory injury supporting Texas’ standing to be in court, and as to the imagined limits of executive authority duly authorized by Congress over many, many years. We look forward to this next step in defending our nation from the folly of ending DACA.”
Please attribute the following statement on today’s notice of appeal to MALDEF Vice President of Litigation Nina Perales:
“While current DACA recipients can continue to renew their DACA grants, we will fight to secure a decision upholding DACA for all people eligible under the rule.”
READ A TIMELINE OF THE CASE HERE.