SAN DIEGO – Thousands of “dreamers” protected under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, have found themselves in limbo once again.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Wednesday DACA, which was put in place by former President Obama, is illegal.

The decision will not remove the current protections nearly 600,000 DACA recipients have.

“Basically, sending it back to the lower court, to review what has happened with the Biden administration who propagated rules and did the rule making process to make this DACA program more viable against any type of legal attacks,” said Tammy Lin, adjunct professor with USD Law.

Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas says he is “deeply disappointed” by the DACA ruling made on Wednesday.

“As a result of the stay that remains in place, no one who currently has DACA will lose their protection from removal or work authorization,” Mayorkas stated. “Consistent with that stay, DHS will continue to accept the filing of both initial and renewal DACA applications, but will process only the DACA renewal requests.”

According to the Migration Policy Institute, out of the nearly 600,000 DACA recipients — California has the majority with nearly 170,000 as of June of 2022.

San Diego lawmakers are weighing on the decision.

“The Fifth Circuit’s decision on DACA is very disappointing,” said stated Rep. Mike Levin. “While the ruling provides some temporary relief for ‘dreamers,’ it jeopardizes the lawful status that many young immigrants have had for more than a decade. It is long past time that we fix our broken immigration system and provide a pathway to citizenship for ‘dreamers,’ who contribute so much to our country and have only known the United States as their home.”

“By definition, ‘dreamers’ are some of the best Americans we have,” stated Rep. Scott Peters. “They are law abiding citizens, they fulfill educational and service requirements to qualify for DACA and they contribute to our country. As the future of DACA still hangs in the alance, Congress must protect the beneficiaries who call this country home. Passing the DREAM Act will provide a legal pathway to citizenship to people who work hard and make the U.S. an exceptional place.”

Rep. Sara Jacobs tweeted, “While the Fifth Circuit’s decision gives hundreds of thousands of ‘dreamers’ temporary protection, it isn’t a permanent solution. Senate Republicans need to do the right thing and pass the DREAM and Promise Act. P.S. The House already passed it. Twice.”

Meanwhile, with midterms just around the corner, it could be seen that the control of the House could either be the Democrats or the Republicans.