Today, Texas Public Policy Foundation Senior Director of Engagement and Right on Immigration Ken Oliver released the following statement:
“Judge Hanen’s decision finding the DACA program to be in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act came down just as we expected. As Judge Hanen indicated in his ruling, ‘as popular as this program might be, the proper origination point for the DACA program was, and is, Congress.’ Former President Trump – along with many lawmakers in Congress to this day – have shown themselves willing to approve legislation that would grant renewable work authorizations for the current DACA eligible population as long as it is done either following or as part of legislation that also provides for necessary border security, including finishing the wall in needed areas along the country’s southwestern border, as well as policies that prevent future DACA populations from continuing to emerge. Due to their boneheaded opposition to legislation along these lines, the current parliamentary majority in Congress and President Biden are both to blame. To make matters worse, by its catastrophic mishandling of the nation’s border security and immigration law enforcement system thus far, the Biden administration has shown no willingness to stem the growing tide of illegal immigration and thus prevent the need for future generations of DACA-like programs. This has also severely damaged and undermined efforts to address the DACA eligible population in a lawful way. At the Texas Public Policy Foundation, now more than ever we insist that securing the U.S. southern border and all U.S. ports of entry is the essential first step without which any major change to U.S. immigration law cannot be made.”