Federal judge blocks new DACA applications

(CNN) – A federal judge in Texas ruled Friday that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program (known as DACA) that protects certain undocumented immigrants from deportation, is illegal, blocking new applicants. .

Judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling would bar future applications, but it does not immediately cancel current permits for hundreds of thousands of people.

The long-awaited ruling throws another hurdle on the DACA program, which President Joe Biden vowed to strengthen, and adds urgency to legislation to legalize the program’s recipients.

READ: What is DACA: the program that protects “dreamers” from deportation