For the past year, younger immigrants shielded from deportation by an Obama-era program known as DACA have seen their protection denied by the Trump administration, then restored by the courts.
But the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which has made the rounds of numerous courts across the country, is back before a judge. And that means the fate of people like 16-year-old Riverside County resident Ricardo Martinez could go back into limbo.
“It has felt like a roller coaster of emotions,” said Martinez, a Perris High junior who was 1 when he was brought illegally to the U.S. by his family. Last week, he applied for DACA.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court this summer rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the program, DACA still faces judicial scrutiny. On Tuesday, Dec. 22, a federal judge in Houston will consider another bid to invalidate DACA.
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen will hear arguments in a lawsuit brought in 2018 by a coalition of states, led by Texas, challenging the constitutionality of DACA. They argue that President Obama exceeded his authority when he unilaterally created DACA eight years ago.
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