(KGTV) -- On Friday, a Texas federal judge ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is illegal and blocked new applicants. DACA provides temporary protection to undocumented children in the U.S. that were brought to this country by their parents.
President Biden said in a press conference Saturday that he believed the ruling was "deeply disappointing" and that the Department of Justice does plan on appealing this decision.
Prisma Aguilar lives in Central Valley, "Living in California, basically it is made up of nothing but immigrants. I feel like they should have the same opportunities."
Aguilar came to this country illegally as a child, and was later provided US citizenship. She says as an adult, she has friends who are DACA recipients, saying that they too should be afforded opportunity.
"They are just like me," shares Aguilar, "they grew up here and all they know is here. So I mean for them to take something away from them that they know nothing of. That's messed up."
Roman Rubio is from San Bernadino. During the pandemic he was studying to become an immigration lawyer. He says he is angry with the continuous legal battle surrounding DACA.
"The people I was trying to help," expresses an emotional Rubio, "it's frustrating because they were trying to make progress on it and it keeps flip flopping."
The ruling Friday would stop the program from taking an new applicants or those who have yet to file. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi told ABC 10News on Saturday that this decision cold not be accepted, "We have certain protections for DACA now. The judge said no more. We don't agree."
Others like Aguilar, believe the program goes above social issues, "Opening up DACA to more people, you are actually bringing more money into the economy because you are giving them the opportunity to apply for DACA, and maybe later they can apply for citizenship or even their green card."
However those like Rep. Darrell Issa have sided with the Texas federal judge. He released a statement saying:
“President Obama clearly exceeded his Constitutional authority, which launched an era of non-enforcement of our immigration rules that brought us here: Democrats are now even more inclined to ignore laws they don’t favor, and President Biden is following suit by opening our borders and allowing 100,000 migrants to enter the country illegally every month.”
In a statement by President Biden, which was released on Saturday, he says on top of the Department of Justice looking to appeal this decision, the Department of Homeland Security plans to issue a proposed rule concerning DACA. He is also urging Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act, which would allow certain illegal migrants a path to permanent resident status.
Aguilar hopes that those in power can come to a meeting point to avoid future legal controversies.
This ruling will be heading to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
