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'The Fight Continues' as Appeals Panel Rules Against DACA
"It is long past time for DACA recipients, and so many others, to have a pathway to citizenship," said one migrant rights advocate.
Jan 18, 2025
Migrant rights advocates vowed to keep fighting after a federal appeals court on Friday dealt a blow to a program providing work permits and deportation relief to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children—shortly before the Monday inauguration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned on mass deportations.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has been ensnarled in legal battles since it was first introduced by the Obama-Biden administration in 2012. Friday's ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stems from Republican-led states challenging the Biden-Harris administration's attempt to strengthen the program in 2022.
In 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen from the Southern District of Texas found that the DACA rule from the previous year was unlawful and issued a nationwide injunction, though he left the program in place for current recipients. On Friday, the panel partly agreed but limited the injunction to Texas and blocked its decision from taking effect pending further appeal.
"We demand Congress find a way to urgently pass permanent protections for as many people as possible."
"The ruling restores DACA in 49 states, providing temporary relief for thousands of young people who study, work, and contribute to our nation. And all current DACA recipients remain protected, and able to renew their DACA grants, until this case concludes its journey through the courts," explained Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at MALDEF, which represents DACA recipients—often called Dreamers, due to related federal legislation that's never made it through Congress.
MALDEF president and general counsel Thomas A. Saenz said that "the panel's overreliance on the 5th Circuit's previous flawed analysis of standing and of the legality of DACA in its entirety make this decision itself ill-informed and nonconforming with respect to current federal law. Thus, we will be carefully considering, with our clients, the best options for preserving the work authorization (and forbearance) of all DACA recipients and DACA-eligible immigrants."
Saenz added that the panel's unanimous decision "presents squarely the question to be answered by Congress and the new administration: Will you finally accede to the expressed desires of bipartisan supermajorities of voters nationwide to preserve and protect the national asset that is made up of our DACA recipients and other DACA-eligible immigrants?"
Advocates for Dreamers, including some Democrats in Congress, also criticized the panel's ruling and called for legislative action.
National Immigration Law Center president Kica Matos
said Friday that the "ruling, just days before Donald Trump takes office, adds to the cruel uncertainty that immigrant youth have endured throughout years of politicized attacks on DACA."
"We also recognize that the incoming administration is likely to resume its assault on DACA and immigrant youth," Matos continued, referencing the Trump-Pence administration's effort to kill the program. "We will confront these attacks with the same force we used to defeat Trump's last attempt to end DACA. It's past time for politicians and courts to stop playing games with the lives of immigrant youth."
FWD.us president Todd Schulte said the new decision "is important and should be read in full," stressing that even the conservative court "made clear in its ruling the deep value of DACA by highlighting that ending the policy would do substantial harm to DACA recipients."
"A few weeks ago, President-elect Trump made welcome comments acknowledging that providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers is the best path forward for our country," he noted. "He now has a unique opportunity to protect DACA recipients and secure permanent protections for Dreamers."
"First, he should ensure that DACA stays in place by continuing to enact the policy as president and not supporting litigation against it," Schulte argued. "Second, he should also work with Republicans and Democrats to pass narrowly targeted legislation that specifically provides Dreamers the permanent protections that are best for them and all Americans."
"No one should have to live their life from court decision to court decision, nor in two-year increments. DACA has transformed the lives of so many. It is long past time for DACA recipients, and so many others, to have a pathway to citizenship," he added. As of October, there were over 537,000 active DACA recipients, according to federal data.
Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream, said that the panel's decision "continues to baselessly attack immigrant young people, while also proving that our communities are essential to the economy and the future of the United States. This is why the 5th Circuit Court has kept renewals alive."
The advocate, who is undocumented, asserted that "the court's insistence on attacking DACA is especially concerning given" that 10 Senate Democrats on Friday joined Republicans in advancing the Laken Riley Act, "a bill that will put the lives of millions of people in danger of racial profiling as well as inhumane and indefinite detention."
"All the while, Trump is set to take office in just two days, pledging to carry out destructive mass raids and deportations quickly and forcefully," she pointed out. Late Friday,
The Wall Street Journalreported that the Trump-Vance administration is set to begin its promised deportations on Tuesday with an operation targeting residents of Chicago, Illinois.
"The pieces of Trump's destructive agenda have been laid out clearly," said Martinez Rosas. "Congress cannot continue to willfully ignore Trump's goal to target as many immigrants as possible and wreak complete havoc on families, cities, local economies, workplaces, and more nationwide. We demand Congress find a way to urgently pass permanent protections for as many people as possible, and for elected officials at every single level—from governors, mayors, and more—to seize every opportunity to reject Trump's agenda now and immediately shore up protections for immigrants nationwide."
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement about the Friday ruling that "the 5th Circuit is a renegade court. To say DACA is unconstitutional is not only cruel but way out of the mainstream of legal thinking."
"President-elect Donald Trump has said that he wants to do 'something about the Dreamers' and that he will work with Democrats on a plan, something I will take him up on while he is in office," he pledged.
Schumer wasn't alone. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said the "terrible" ruling "is another harsh reminder of the constant uncertainty DACA recipients face," while Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)—who has fought for Dreamers on Capitol Hill for over two decades—declared "the 5th Circuit DACA decision creates a force that will require a Washington response."
Even Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who helped Republicans tee up the Laken Riley Act for a final vote next week, said that "I strongly disagree" with the ruling and called for a legislative fix.
In the House of Representatives—also narrowly controlled by Republicans—Democrats similarly urged action. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants whose district includes part of Chicago, said that the ruling "only adds to the uncertainty and fear of countless immigrant and mixed-status families."
"If you are eligible, renew your DACA—don't wait!" she said. "To our Dreamers—¡Esta lucha no termina aquí! The fight continues until each of our immigrant neighbors has the safety, stability, and dignity they deserve."
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'The GOP Promised to Make Life Easier for Working Families,' But Here's the Real Agenda
"Mike Johnson is committing to slashing Social Security and Medicare to get the speaker's gavel," said one progressive group.
Jan 03, 2025
As Republicans took full control of Congress this week and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepared to take office later this month, Democratic lawmakers renewed warnings about how the GOP agenda will harm working people and pledged to fight against it.
"Today, the 119th Congress officially begins. Our top priority over the next two years must be fighting for working families and standing up to corporate power and greed," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on social media Friday.
"While Republicans focus their energy for the next two years on giving tax breaks to the rich and cutting vital public programs, Democrats will continue working to lower costs and raise wages for all," Jayapal promised. "We'll always be fighting for YOU."
In addition to members of Congress being sworn in on Friday, nearly all Republicans in the House of Representatives reelected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as speaker and the chamber debated a rules package that Democrats have criticized since it was released by GOP leadership earlier this week.
"Their governance will be marked by consolidated power, scapegoated communities, and campaigns of punishment."
The package fast-tracks a dozen bills on a range of issues; they include various immigration measures as well as legislation attacking transgender student athletes, sanctioning the International Criminal Court, requiring proof of United States citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, and prohibiting a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for fossil fuels.
"Speaker Johnson has said that the 119th Congress will be consequential. Today, both in Speaker Johnson's address and in the rules package the Republicans have passed, Republicans have shown us what the consequences of their leadership will be," Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.) said in a statement. "In their first order of business, Republicans advanced a legislative package that abuses the power of Congress to persecute trans children athletes, take federal funding away from sanctuary cities like Chicago and Illinois, scapegoat immigrants, erode voting rights, and put new criminal penalties on reproductive care providers."
"For the first time in history, they seek to make the speakership less accountable to the full body of legislators and to limit our ability to consider emergency bills," Ramirez noted. "Overall, they are using the rules to make Congress less transparent, less accountable, and less responsive to the needs of the American people. Their governance will be marked by consolidated power, scapegoated communities, and campaigns of punishment."
Speaking out against the package on the House floor, Jayapal said it "makes very clear what the Republican majority will not do in the 119th Congress," stressing that the 12 bills "do nothing to lower costs or raise wages for the American people."
These bills also won't "take on the biggest corporations and wealthiest individuals who profit from the high prices and junk fees and corporate concentration that's harming Americans across this country," she said. "Because guess what? These corporations and wealthy individuals are the ones that are controlling the Republican Party for their own benefit."
Jayapal highlighted the exorbitant wealth of Trump's Cabinet picks, just a day after the president-elect announced corporate lobbyist and GOP donor Ken Kies as his choice for assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department—which is set to be led by billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, as Republicans in Congress try to pass another round of tax cuts for the rich.
GOP lawmakers are also aiming "to make meaningful spending reforms to eliminate trillions in waste, fraud, and abuse, and end the weaponization of government," Johnson said in a lengthy social media on Friday. "Along with advancing President Trump's America First agenda, I will lead the House Republicans to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory."
In other words, responded the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), "Mike Johnson is committing to slashing Social Security and Medicare to get the speaker's gavel."
Republicans have a slim House majority and Trump-backed Johnson was initially set to fall short of the necessary support to remain speaker, due to opposition from not only Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) but also Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Keith Self (R-Texas). However, after a private conversation, Norman and Self switched their votes.
"Johnson cut a backroom deal with the members that voted against him so they'd flip their votes. So he will get gavel now. I'm sure in time we'll find out what he sold out just so he'd win," Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) said on social media.
"What did Johnson sell out to become speaker? Social Security or Medicare? Or perhaps veterans?" he asked.
Citing a document circulated ahead of the vote by Johnson's right-wing critics that lists "failures" of the 118th Congress, the PCCC said: "Looks like all of the above. But his holdouts put Social Security in their first bullet of grievances."
After the vote, Norman and 10 right-wing colleagues released a letter explaining that, despite sincere reservations, they elected Johnson because of their "steadfast support of President Trump and to ensure the timely certification of his electors."
"To deliver on the historic mandate earned by President Trump for the Republican Party, we must be organized to use reconciliation—and all legislative tools—to deliver on critical border security, spending cuts, pro-growth tax policy, regulatory reform, and the reversal of the damage done by the Biden-Harris administration," they added.
Politicoreported that "House Republicans are hoping to start work on the budget targets for critical committees on Saturday—the first step in kicking off their ambitious legislative agenda involving energy, border, and tax policy."
According to the outlet:
"The Ways and Means Committee is just going to be able to draft tax legislation according to what the budget reconciliation instructions are," said House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who will be leading the charge on extensions of... Trump's tax cuts.
"And so when the conference figures out what they want in those instructions, we'll be able to deliver according to those parameters," said Smith, when asked about the primary goal of a GOP conference meeting tentatively scheduled for Saturday at Fort McNair, an Army post in southwest Washington.
That followed Thursday reporting by The Washington Post that Trump advisers and congressional Republicans "have begun floating proposals to boost federal revenue and slash spending so their plans for major tax cuts and new security spending won't further explode the $36.2 trillion national debt."
As the newspaper detailed, 10 policies that Republicans have considered are tariffs, repealing clean energy programs, unauthorized spending, repealing the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness, shuttering the Education Department, cutting federal food assistance, imposing Medicaid work requirements, blocking Medicare obesity treatment, ending the child tax credit for noncitizen parents, and cutting Internal Revenue Service funding.
"The GOP promised to make life easier for working families," Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), the Democratic whip, said on social media in response to the Post's article. "Now, they want to slash your school budget, raise your grocery costs, and hike your energy bills—all to pay for billionaire tax cuts."
"We will not allow Republicans to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food assistance to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy," she added Friday. "No way."
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Top Senate Dem Says 'We're Not Going to Let Elon Musk Run the Government'
After once again moving the nation toward a government shutdown, the House GOP on Friday was pushing a Plan C: separate votes on short-term funding, disaster relief, and farming.
Dec 20, 2024
Congressional Democrats on Friday continued to target billionaire Elon Musk and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for forcing a last-minute scramble to prevent a government shutdown shortly before the winter holidays.
"I'm ready to stay here through Christmas because we're not going to let Elon Musk run the government," Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a Friday statement. "Put simply, we should not let an unelected billionaire rip away research for pediatric cancer so he can get a tax cut or tear down policies that help America outcompete China because it could hurt his bottom line."
"We had a bipartisan deal—we should stick to it. The deal that was already agreed to would responsibly fund the government, offer badly needed disaster relief to communities across America, and deliver some good bipartisan policy reforms," she added. "The American people do not want chaos or a costly government shutdown all because an unelected billionaire wants to call the shots—I am ready to work with Republicans and Democrats to pass the bipartisan deal both sides negotiated as soon as possible."
If Congress doesn't act before midnight, a government shutdown could begin overnight—a possibility the White House Office of Management and Budget is warning federal agencies to prepare for,
according toWashington Post reporter Jeff Stein.
After Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—the two billionaires Trump has tapped to co-lead his forthcoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—came out against the initial bipartisan deal on Wednesday, the president-elect swiftly followed suit, leading progressive critics to dub Musk, the world's richest person, a "shadow president" a month before the inauguration.
Faced with that opposition and Trump's sudden call for the continuing resolution to also raise the country's debt ceiling, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday evening held a vote on a bill that would address that demand and fund the government for three months—but it was rejected by 38 Republicans and all but two Democrats.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, on Thursday night called out Musk on his own social media platform, X, and argued that "Congress must not yield to out-of-touch billionaires."
After
voting against the so-called American Relief Act (H.R. 10515) on Thursday, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said in a statement that "we had an agreement. A bipartisan negotiated continuing resolution. But then the Republicans' billionaire bosses—Trump and Musk—got involved, and Republicans showed us *exactly* who they work for."
"In the last 48 hours, the Republicans have shown, AGAIN, that their agenda is the corporate billionaire, big money in politics agenda," she continued. "In order to meet their bosses' expectations, they offer up vulnerable Americans as an offering, sacrificing working people's healthcare, children's research, elderly people's affordable prescription drugs, and much, much more."
"And they are laying the groundwork to make the rich richer through tax cuts for the ultrawealthy in the 119th Congress," Ramirez warned. "If the Republicans want to make the rich richer, the poor poorer, and the sick sicker, they will have to pass this continuing resolution without me. I work for everyday Americans. I am not beholden to billionaires. I voted NO."
With less than 12 hours until a shutdown, Senate Democrats are putting the blame on Johnson, who is shifting to Plan C: three separate votes on "a short-term funding bill, money for recent natural disasters, and a one-year farm bill extension with aid for farmers," Politicoreported Friday.
According to the outlet:
The new plan will test his ability to wrangle his conference. Members believe Johnson is taking the proposal through the Rules Committee, trying to pass it through regular order so it only requires a simple majority on the House floor. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who is on the panel, said that he will back the plan, meaning it should have enough support to get out of the committee.
But then things get trickier. Johnson would need near unity from his conference to bring it up for debate on the floor, known as voting for the rule. Democrats typically don't vote for rules and are loath to help bail out Republicans after they backed away from a bipartisan funding agreement earlier this week.
"Republicans have the House majority—they should be able to pass whatever they want. If they need our votes, they have to come to the table and negotiate," outgoing Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Friday. "That's what happened, and we struck a bipartisan deal. But then they blew it up because of a tweet from a billionaire. Insane."
The shutdown threat comes as Republicans prepare to control not only the White House but also both chambers of Congress next year.
Reporting on the GOP's Friday leadership meeting, Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman said that a slide was displayed for a debt ceiling agreement that would "raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion in the 'first reconciliation package' alongside a promise to CUT $2.5 trillion in 'net mandatory spending in the reconciliation process.'"
Though federal law prohibits using the reconciliation process to alter Social Security, the advocacy group Social Security Works noted in response to Sherman that "the ONLY WAY to cut $2.5 trillion in spending is by slashing Social Security, Medicare, and/or Medicaid. Republicans want to steal our benefits to pay for their billionaire tax cuts."
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