Dozens Protest on Capitol Hill Following DACA Ruling

Published: October 6, 2022

Dozens of protesters took to the streets in front of Capitol Hill to demand answers over the future of DACA on October 6, 2022 in Washington D.C. (Image: Screenshot via Reuters)

Dozens of protesters marched close to the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 6 after a court ruling on Wednesday made the future of DACA uncertain.

DACA, an acronym for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a policy that protects around 800,000 young people — known as “DREAMers” — who entered the United States unlawfully as children. The program does not grant them official legal status or a pathway to citizenship, but it does allow them to apply for a driver’s license, social security number, and work permit.

A federal appeals court ruled that a program that has protected hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation was unlawful, but said current enrollees could renew their status and sent the case back to a lower court to consider a new Biden administration regulation.

A panel of three judges from the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling against the program, but remanded the case in light of a new regulation issued in August. The new rule aims to strengthen the program against legal challenges.

The decision is a mixed one for U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, who said he wants a permanent pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients – often known as “Dreamers.”