HOUSTON - DACA will remain in place for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants living in the United States — for now.
The executive order that prevents deportation of certain immigrant groups — many of them immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — has been contested in courts throughout the country and is currently being challenged in the Southern District of Texas.
A federal judge in downtown Houston decided not to issue a ruling Wednesday on a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas to end the program.
Attorneys for the state claim it all comes down to money and told the judge Texas pays more than $225 million a year for DACA recipients in the forms of education, health care and law enforcement. Attorneys claim the state cannot afford to support any new DACA recipients.
“We have been living here for years. Our families have been living here for years. Our communities have made a home here. This is our home," said Daniel Candelaria, demonstrator with United We Dream. "We are here to stay. We’re not going to go away because the Trump administration and some white supremacists want us to go away. No, we’re not.”
United States attorneys ironically agree with the state of Texas and contend the Obama-era executive order is unconstitutional.
Litigation and emergency injunctions in other states have prevented the Trump administration from killing the DACA program entirely.
Attorneys representing some of the "dreamers" have intervened on the Texas case claiming the state's estimates are flawed and that recipients are not costing the state additional money.
“The situation today is as it was yesterday and it will be the same situation tomorrow," said one of the attorneys for the dreamers."DACA is in effect. Texas and the other states are not truly injured by DACA.”
Texas has joined a coalition with 10 other states claiming damages from DACA.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement Wednesday saying the state's lawsuit does not intend to impact individuals currently approved by DACA, but it would prevent future immigrants from participating in the program.
A judge is expected to make a ruling on an emergency injunction filed by the state of Texas sometime next week.