Federal Judge Declares Obama-Era DACA Program Illegal

Order stipulates that current DACA recipients aren't affected

Pro-DACA supporters protest outside Capitol Hill on Jan. 21, 2018 in Washington. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

A Texas federal judge on Friday ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama-era policy that shields certain illegal immigrants from being deported, is unlawful and blocked new applications from being filed.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen argued that the policy goes against the Constitution because Congress never provided the executive branch authorization to grant deportation reprieves to illegal immigrants in the United States. DACA, which was established in 2012 by President Barack Obama’s administration, has granted an estimated 800,000 individuals protection.