On February 1, 2024, the NAM joined a coalition amicus brief urging the 5th Circuit to uphold DHS’s new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals rule. DACA is a program that allows undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children to apply for protection from deportation and permission to work in the United States. In this case, the 5th Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that DHS lacked authority to adopt DACA. The 5th Circuit remanded the case to the district court for consideration of whether DHS may accept new and renewal DACA applications based on DHS's promulgation of a new DACA rule. On remand, the district court invalidated the new rule, and barred DHS from approving new DACA requests.
Alongside 55 other businesses and trade associations, we argue in our brief that invalidating DACA will harm the economy because (1) businesses rely on DACA recipients as employees, customers, and job creators; and (2) DACA recipients fill jobs that would otherwise remain vacant. Moreover, DACA is a lawful exercise of executive authority.