President Joe Biden is preparing to sign an executive order protecting 600,000 illegal immigrants from deportation, NBC News reported Thursday, citing “people close to the White House.”

The move is being made in advance of a decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the future of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

DACA protects illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children — so-called Dreamers — from deportation and allows them access to work permits.

As of December 2021, 611,470 migrants were protected under the program, according to the Migration Policy Insitute.

The Fifth Circuit is expected to end the program, and the Supreme Court has indicated it would affirm such a ruling, according to NBC News.

Trending:

Massive Migrant Caravan Marches Toward US with LGBT Flags Flying as Mexican President Snubs Biden at Summit

Sources close to the White House told the outlet that the administration’s plan would temporarily shield migrants protected under DACA.

Under the order, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would be directed to “deprioritize deporting DACA recipients and refrain from deporting them if they aren’t deemed threats to public safety or national security,” NBC News reported.

Proponents of the DACA policy, including Todd Schute, fear it will soon come to an abrupt end. Schute serves as president and executive director of FWD.us, an activist organization in favor of progressive immigration policies.

“DACA has been threatened in the past, but the current case ahead of the 5th Circuit Court is the most severe threat to date,” Schute told NBC News.

Do you think Biden is making the border crisis worse?

Yes: 0% (0 Votes)

No: 0% (0 Votes)

“If Congress does not pass legislation this year, it is likely that nearly 700,000 DACA recipients will be at risk of being forced out of their jobs and subjected to the threat of deportation,” he said.

“If the 5th Circuit rules against DACA, 1,000 existing DACA recipients will be at risk of losing their legal ability to work every single business day for the next 24 months,” Schute said.

Not all immigration experts are supportive of DACA, however.

Lora Ries, director of the…