On Thursday, plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit asked a federal judge in Brooklyn to force the federal government to start processing old applications for immigrants who filed for status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — also known as DACA — and begin accepting new ones.

The Obama-era program that allows some people who came to the United States as children to live and work here legally was put on pause during the Trump administration. Then the Biden administration reopened the application process for new applicants, only to be once again challenged by a different judge in Texas who ruled it was illegal.

“We’re telling a judge that there’s space in between these two orders, that government can do more,” said Jessica Hanson, a staff attorney at National immigration Law Center. “It can process applications up to the point of granting because this can help in the future if DACA is reopened even for a brief time.”

The Justice Department finds itself on both sides of the case, saying in court that the Texas ruling prevents it from processing applications — while also appearing this week in a federal court in New Orleans fighting against some Republican-led states trying to end the program completely.

The courts have not made rulings in either case yet.

Eliana Fernandez says she joined the class action lawsuit in Brooklyn in hopes of getting the peace of mind she has been missing for nearly 20 years.

“It has been very difficult and challenging to plan my life in two-year increments because of the constant attacks on DACA,” Fernandez said.

When she was 14 years old, Fernandez moved to the United States from Ecuador to join her parents without legal permission to live here. Five years ago, the federal government granted her temporary legal status under DACA.

“I have been able to provide a better future for my kids, gain some financial stability, and then able to come out of the shadows and tell people that I’m undocumented, I’m unafraid and here to stay,” Fernandez said.

Like hundred of thousands of DACA recipients, she is able to renew her status, but says political and legal changes have unraveled the sense of security it provides.

Fernandez says she’s not just worried about the nearly 80,000 people who applied in between the 2 court rulings, but also for her own family.

“The imminent threat of deportation is still there, and that was one of my biggest fears as to why I joined the lawsuit,” Fernandez said. “I didn’t want to be separated from my children. I don’t want them to live the same experience I did growing up without my parents. This is why I’m here this is why it matters.”