DACA Not Impacted by Supreme Court Ruling on Loan Forgiveness, per Biden Admin

The Biden administration told the Texas federal judge overseeing the challenge to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the student loan forgiveness program does not impact DACA.

The Supreme Court’s ruling over loan forgiveness found that the secretary of education lacked the authority to forgive student loan debt under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003. The government argues that there is no comparable issue in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) governing deferred action criteria, which is relevant to DACA.

The plaintiffs challenging DACA argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling supports their contention that the final DACA rule implemented by the Biden administration improperly rewrote congressional statutes. However, the Department of Justice points to the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which they say intended to protect the executive branch’s discretion from judicial review.

The government maintains that DACA was not a rewriting of the INA but rather established a policy for the exercise of enforcement discretion under the INA. They refer to the U.S. v. Texas case, where the Supreme Court held that Texas and Louisiana lacked standing to challenge the administration’s immigration enforcement priorities.

Recipients involved in the case also argue that DACA, like the revived deportation guidelines, reflects an exercise of enforcement discretion in the immigration context.

The U.S. District Judge held a hearing on June 1 but has delayed issuing a ruling to allow for a briefing on the impact of the Supreme Court decisions. The states have requested a two-year wind-down of the DACA program, which the administration is currently blocked from accepting new applications. However, the administration can still process renewal applications.

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