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Obama Fires Back After Judge Rules Against Dreamers – Demands Congress Find Permanent Solution

The former President Barack Obama took to Twitter over the weekend to fire back after a federal judge blocked new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

This did not sit well with Obama, who demanded that Congress take action to find permanent protections to undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors, known as Dreamers.

“For more than nine years, DREAMers have watched courts and politicians debate whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the only country many of them have ever known,” Obama tweeted. “It’s long past time for Congress to act and give them the protection and certainty they deserve.”

This came after Texas Judge Andrew Hanen blocked new applications for the DACA program, saying the Department of Homeland Security violated the Administrative Procedure Act “with the creation of DACA and its continued operation,” according to The Hill [2].

The ruling does not effect the statuses of the 600,000 current DACA recipients, who will be allowed to remain in the program and renew their benefits, protecting immigrants from deportation and offering work permits. This is pending an upcoming order from Hanen himself, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.

President Joe Biden also complained about the ruling in a statement [3] of his own.

“In 2012, the Obama-Biden Administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to remain in the United States, to live, study, and work in our communities. Nine years later, Congress has not acted to provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers,” Biden said.

“Yesterday’s Federal court ruling is deeply disappointing,” he added. “While the court’s order does not now affect current DACA recipients, this decision nonetheless relegates hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to an uncertain future.”

“The Department of Justice intends to appeal this decision in order to preserve and fortify DACA,” Biden continued. “And, as the court recognized, the Department of Homeland Security plans to issue a proposed rule concerning DACA in the near future.”

“But only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve,” the president stated.

“I have repeatedly called on Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act, and I now renew that call with the greatest urgency,” Biden concluded. “It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means, Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived too long in fear.”