NEW ORLEANS- Immigrants who grew up in the United States after being brought illegally by their parents as children were among about 200 protesters gathered Thursday outside a federal courthouse in New Orleans. There, three appeal judges heard arguments about the Joe Biden government’s policy that protects them from deportation.
At stake in this long legal battle before the 5th Federal Court of Appeals is the future of some 535,000 people who have lived in the United States for years, but do not have nationality or legal residence, and face the possibility of being deported. .
“I live here. I work here. I have a house here,” said María Rocha Carrillo, 37 years old. He traveled from his home in New York to join the protest and was in the front row inside a packed courtroom as the hearing began. She said that she was brought to the United States when she was 3 years old, after migrating with her family from Mexico, her native country. He was unable to obtain his teaching certificate until Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) allowed him to pursue a career in education.
Although there were no opponents of DACA among the protesters, Texas and eight other Republican states have argued in court that the permanence of these immigrants generates hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for health care, education and other services.
At the beginning of the hearing, Brian Boynton argued that the states do not have the right to sue, since they have not proven any harm from DACA. He stated that his position has been strengthened following recent decisions by the Supreme Court, which contradict a previous 5th Circuit ruling from 2022.
Justice Jerry Smith responded skeptically: “I don’t understand how you can move forward with that argument,” he maintained, noting that Supreme Court precedents do not contain clear language requiring the appeals court to reverse its earlier decision.
For his part, Judge Stephen Higginson was more open to considering Boynton’s proposal.
“A radical change in analysis would allow us to follow the Supreme Court instead of the 5th Circuit’s erroneous interpretation?” Higginson asked.
“That’s right,” Boynton responded.
The justices gave no indication of when or how they will issue their ruling, but the case will almost certainly end up in the Supreme Court.
DACA advocates maintain that the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to set immigration policies and that states have no legal basis to sue. “They cannot identify any harm from DACA,” Nina Perales, vice president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), said at a news conference.
The Texas prosecutor’s office did not respond to an interview request. Other states involved in the lawsuit include Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas and Mississippi.
Among the allies of these states is the Immigration Reform Law Institute, whose executive director, Dale L. Wilcox, stressed: “Congress has repeatedly refused to legalize DACA recipients, and no government can make that decision in its place”.
The panel handling the case is made up of Judges Jerry Smith, nominated to the 5th Circuit by former President Ronald Reagan; Edith Brown Clement, nominated by former President George W. Bush; and Stephen Higginson, nominated by Obama.
DACA was approved during the administration of Barack Obama, who did not fulfill the promise of immigration reform during the two terms of government, despite the fact that in the first the Democrats had the majority in both chambers.
