Expert: Proposed DACA Rule Could "Bulletproof" Program Against Litigation Challenges

Miriam Jordan, Eileen Sullivan, New York Times, Sept. 28, 2021

"The Biden administration [published] a proposed rule on Tuesday in hopes of preserving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a program that has protected hundreds of thousands of undocumented young adults from deportation and allowed them to legally work in the United States.  The proposal is especially important given a recent decision by the Senate parliamentarian to not allow immigration provisions to be included in a sprawling budget bill, which Democrats had hoped would put DACA recipients on a path to citizenship.  The new rule, to be published in The Federal Register, would go into effect after the administration considers public input during a 60-day comment period. It would protect some 700,000 undocumented people brought to the United States as children from being deported or losing their work permits, even if Congress does not pass comprehensive immigration reform…. ...The [81]-page rule “basically is an effort to bulletproof the DACA program from litigation challenges,” said Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell Law School. “While Democrats will try to find other ways to provide a path to a green card for Dreamers,” he added, “the proposed rule could be a temporary safety net for Dreamers if legislation fails.”…"