By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled against outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden’s effort to protect immigrants illegally brought to the U.S. as children, siding with Texas just days before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld a 2023 lower court judge’s decision that found a Biden administration regulation aimed at strengthening the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program did not remedy its legal deficiencies, but limited the scope of the ruling to the state of Texas.

The program for so-called “Dreamer” immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children provides 537,000 people with deportation relief and work permits, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. The appeals court left in place a stay that allows current DACA enrollees to retain the quasi-legal status pending the outcome of litigation.

Trump plans to embark on a sweeping immigration crackdown after he takes office on Monday and aims to deport record numbers of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. The Republican president-elect sought to terminate the DACA program during his 2017-2021 presidency but was rebuffed by the Supreme Court. In a December interview, Trump said he was open to a deal with Democrats to protect Dreamers.

Biden issued a regulation in 2022 that aimed to fortify the legal standing of the DACA program but was challenged by Texas and a coalition of states with Republican attorneys general. The states argued DACA saddled their states with added healthcare and education costs.

Democrats and immigration advocates say DACA enrollees came to the U.S. through no fault of their own and now are law-abiding, contributing members of American society.

About 81 percent of DACA enrollees were Mexican, according to USCIS data. Other top countries include El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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