A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered a trial review of the Biden administration's revisions to a program that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States when they were children.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said a federal district judge in Texas should re-examine the program after the revisions adopted in August. The ruling, for now, leaves the future of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals up in the air.
“It seems that the status quo for DACA remains,” said Veronica Garcia, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, an advocacy organization.
DACA was adopted by the administration of former President Barack Obama and has had a rocky journey through federal court challenges.
Last year, US District Judge Andrew Hanen, based in Texas, made DACA illegal . But he left the program temporarily untouched for those already benefiting from it, pending the appeal.
Wednesday's ruling by three judges on the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upholds the judge's initial decision. But he sends the case back to her to review a new version of the rule issued by the Biden administration in late August.
“A district court is in the best position to review the administrative record in the rulemaking process,” the opinion said.
