In immigration news, the Biden administration is turning the Obama-era program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, into a federal regulation — a move aimed at protecting it from more legal challenges. The rule is scheduled to take effect October 31. DACA has shielded hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation and granted them work permits. Several Republican-led states have led lawsuits attempting to gut DACA, arguing the program is illegal. Last year a federal judge in Texas blocked new DACA applications; the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to issue an opinion on a challenge to that ruling later this year.