Approximately 50,000 immigrant teenagers and young adults applied for deportation relief under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy in the three months after the Obama-era program was reopened to first-time applicants in December, according to newly released government data.
Between January and March, fewer than 800 immigrants — or 1.5% of the applicants during that time span — had their first-time applications for DACA approved, alarming advocates who point to a looming court decision that threatens the program’s existence.
A federal judge in Texas who has previously called DACA unlawful is set to issue a ruling on the legality of the policy, which several Republican-led states are seeking to dismantle. The Texas-led coalition of states have argued the Obama administration overreached its executive authority when it created DACA in 2012.