President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new rule on Wednesday in an attempt to codify as a federal regulation former President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has allowed nearly 800,000 illegal aliens to remain in the United States.
“Thanks to DACA, we have been enriched by young people who contribute so much to our communities and our country,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, urging Congress to pass an amnesty for illegal aliens enrolled and eligible for DACA.
The rule is an attempt by the Biden administration to avoid legal challenges to DACA brought by elected Republicans through the years.
In codifying the program as a federal regulation, DACA will maintain the same eligibility criteria — which allows young illegal aliens who can prove they arrived in the U.S. before June 2007 to access two-year work permits and deferred deportation.
The rule will go into effect on October 31.
As Breitbart News has reported, the standards for DACA were set so low by the Obama administration that thousands of illegal aliens with prior violent criminal records were allowed to enter the program and remain in the U.S.
From 2012 to 2018, about 53,792 illegal aliens were awarded DACA despite having prior arrest records. Meanwhile, nearly 8,000 illegal aliens awarded DACA were later arrested for crimes, the data shows.
More than 30 illegal aliens were given DACA status despite having previously been arrested for rape. Ten illegal aliens, likewise, were awarded DACA after having been arrested for murder and 95 illegal aliens after having been arrested for kidnapping.
In June, Biden celebrated DACA’s 10-year anniversary.
“These young people contribute to our community in ways that are both big and small,” Biden said. “… DREAMers are our friends and neighbors and are Americans [in] every way except on paper. It is time to provide them with permanent protections they deserve.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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