A US judge on Wednesday ruled against a programme offering deportation relief and work permits to immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, known as “Dreamers".
The ruling came despite an attempt by US President Joe Biden's administration to bolster the programme's standing with a new regulation.
The decision by US District Court Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas deals a new setback to the programme, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), and the 579,000 people enrolled in it and others who hoped to enrol in the future.
Mr Hanen, a Republican-appointed judge, found a regulation issued last year by Mr Biden's Democratic administration did not fix legal deficiencies that led him to find Daca unlawful in 2021.
He blocked new enrolments to the programme, which has been in place for more than a decade.
The ruling, which came in response to a lawsuit brought by Texas and other states, is expected to be appealed.
Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defensc and Educational Fund, which is representing Daca recipients in the lawsuit, said it would ultimately be up to higher courts, including the Supreme Court, to rule on the programme's legality and whether Texas proved it had been harmed by it.
The US Department of Homeland Security can continue to renew the status of those enrolled in the programme before Mr Hanen's 2021 ruling, Mr Saenz said.
Many Daca recipients speak English and have jobs, homes and families in the US.
Mr Hanen wrote that the order did not require US immigration authorities “to take any immigration, deportation, or criminal action against any Daca recipient, applicant or any other individual that would otherwise not be taken”.
The White House and the office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Biden, who is seeking re-election in 2024, has made it a priority to defend the Daca programme, which was created in 2012 under former president Barack Obama when Mr Biden was vice president.
Texas and eight other states with Republican attorneys general said the programme breached federal regulatory law and saddled them with costs for education, health care and law enforcement.
In October 2022, the conservative-leaning 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Mr Hanen's ruling against Daca, but sent the case back to him for reconsideration in light of Mr Biden's regulation formalising the programme.
Former president Donald Trump, a Republican seeking re-election in 2024, sought to end Daca but was rebuffed by the US Supreme Court, which found his termination did not comply with regulatory laws.
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The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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