On Thursday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case to determine the future of “Dreamers” who came to the country as children, including an estimated 27,000 Houstonians. 

The hearing is the latest step in a six-year legal saga challenging the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Texas and eight other states sued the federal government in 2018 to end DACA based on the alleged financial burden to the state. 

DACA recipients and immigrant advocate groups gathered outside the New Orleans courthouse Thursday to follow the legal battle that could strip 528,000 people of their work permit and protections from deportation. With the fourth-largest DACA population in the country according to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Houston is one of the cities most impacted.

Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and the State of New Jersey defended the program against the State of Texas. Judges heard arguments about the legal standing of Texas to challenge a federal policy, validity of arguments of financial harm, and the possibility of striking down some but not all parts of the program.

Lawyers for the Department of Justice questioned Texas’ standing to challenge a federal policy, arguing that past precedent has limited states’ ability to do so. New Jersey cited the positive impact of DACA on its state and challenged Texas’ ability to determine whether a nationwide program should continue.

MALDEF questioned Texas’ statistics on education and health care expenditures to prove financial burden. DACA recipients have aged out of the K-12 education system. Work permits increase their access to health insurance, a lawyer said. 

The State of Texas maintained its legal standing to challenge the program, citing its successful case against the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. 

Judges Jerry E. Smith, appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, Edith Brown Clement, appointed by former president George W. Bush, and Stephen A. Higginson, appointed by former President Barack Obama, presided over the hearing. 

Economic impact

Immigration advocates have emphasized the contributions of DACA recipients that outweigh any burden on public services. 

Tom Jawetz, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said that ending DACA would harm, rather than help, Texas as the state argues.

“All the harms they complain of actually would become realized rather than the reality now, which is a lot of people who are going to school and going to work and raising families,” Jawetz said. 

DACA recipients pay $6.2 billion in federal taxes and $3.3 billion in state and local taxes each year, according to the White House. In Houston, these DACA recipients pay an estimated $246 million in federal taxes and $136 million in state and local taxes, according to the Center for American Progress

“Today’s court hearing in New Orleans is yet another reminder that Congress cannot sit on the sidelines while the future of Dreamers and spouses of U.S. citizens hang in the balance,” Al Cardenas, co-chairman of the American Business Immigration Coalition and former chair of the Florida Republican Party, said in a press release. 

“If Congress fails to protect DACA, over the next two years, we could lose an estimated 1,000 U.S. jobs every single business day — jobs that are vital to our economy.”

Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29), who represents Houston, said in a statement Thursday that she would fight for a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. 

“As we face this legal challenge, it’s more important than ever to protect Dreamers and make sure we keep families together, not tear them apart,” Garcia said. 

Despite the legal challenge, DACA is one of the immigration programs that maintains strong public support. More than 80 percent of people believe that immigrants brought to the U.S. as children should have a pathway to citizenship, even as overall support for immigration is declining, according to a June 2024 Gallup poll.

“We know that the majority of the American public is on our side and that our home is here,” Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director for immigrant advocacy group United We Dream, said in a press release. “The moral and just choice in this moment is crystal clear: the 5th Circuit must reject this baseless lawsuit and uphold vital protections for our people, our economy and our country’s democracy.” 

The Fifth Circuit did not immediately issue a ruling on Thursday. The case is likely to make its way to the Supreme Court. 

Current DACA recipients can still renew their status while the case is ongoing, but the program is not accepting new applicants. 

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