On Monday, February 16th, a federal judge in Texas ruled in favor of the state of Texas and 25 other states to halt President Obama’s executive action on immigration, which was announced in November 2014. HRLegalist previously noted that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service would begin accepting applications for the expanded version of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative as of February 18, 2015. However, the administration has temporarily suspended this program in order to comply with the federal injunction.
The Texas judge found that the administration’s programs would impose major burdens on states, straining state budgets, and that the administration had not followed required procedures for changing federal rules as mandated by the Administrative Procedures Act. The judge stated that the Government has “clearly legislated a substantive rule without complying with the procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act.”
Although the Obama Administration is appealing the order, USCIS will not begin accepting requests for the expanded program. However, the court’s injunction does not affect the existing DACA program currently in place. Individuals may continue to come forward and request an initial grant of DACA or renewal of DACA under the guidelines established in 2012. Check back with HRLegalist for additional updates.
