U.S. judge rules DACA program illegal, suspends new applications U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen sided with a group of states suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, arguing it was illegally created by former President Barack Obama in 2012. Written By: Mica Rosenberg / Reuters | 4:34 pm, Jul. 16, 2021 × Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas delivers a speech during the inauguration of a facility to receive deportees, at La Aurora International airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala July 7, 2021. Guatemala Presidency/Handout via REUTERS NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge in Texas on Friday blocked new applications to a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportation, but said the hundreds of thousands of people already enrolled would not be affected until further court rulings.