President Joe Biden is planning to appeal a ruling from a federal judge in Texas. The judge sided with nine conservative states that sued to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The DACA program has about 650,000 people enrolled, and their status remains unchanged. But for now no more people can be enrolled, per the AP. Biden called the ruling “deeply disappointing.” The president called on Congress to protect the people currently enrolled and provide them with a path to citizenship, saying they had “too long lived in fear.”
Judge Andrew Hanen said Homeland Security had overstepped by creating DACA in the first place, the Hill reports. Former President Donald Trump tried to end DACA during his term but was blocked by the Supreme Court, the Guardian reports. Biden entered office in January already calling for a better solution and path to citizenship for immigrants who came to the US as children. He says the Department of Justice will appeal the ruling. (More DACA stories.)