At Least 13 Migrant Justice Activists Arrested Protesting Court’s Anti-DACA Ruling

Authorities arrested at least 13 migrant justice advocates Thursday during a Washington, D.C. protest denouncing a federal court’s decision that an Obama-era program shielding hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth from deportation is illegal.

Activists from groups including United We Dream Action (UWD) and CASA rallied outside the Hart Senate Office Building a day after a three-judge panel on the right-wing U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found the 2012 Obama administration memo establishing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unlawful.

DACA protects around 600,000 people—”Dreamers”—who unlawfully entered the United States as children from facing deportation.

A spokesperson for the Capitol Police said 13 protesters were arrested. CASA said the number was 15.

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly blocked a Trump administration effort to end DACA, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court’s liberal justices in a 5-4 ruling that called then-President Donald Trump’s attempt to terminate the policy “arbitrary and capricious.”

However, the justices did not rule on the legality of DACA’s implementation.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden—who campaigned on a platform plank of citizenship for Dreamers—directed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “to take all actions” to “preserve and fortify DACA.”

In August, Biden took executive action to strengthen DACA protections, while calling on Republicans in Congress to pass legislation giving Dreamers a pathway to citizenship.

Dreamers and their allies, including numerous congressional Democrats, have repeatedly called on Congress to codify DACA protections in law.

“We need Congress to act on citizenship now,” said Kolade, “so we no longer have to live in fear and can continue to prosper in this country we call home.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org.