What is DACA?

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a type of administrative relief from deportation for illegal aliens who had arrived in the United States as children.

DACA gives young undocumented immigrants protection from deportation and work permits. The program was created by President Barack Obama, and is currently being phased out by the new administration.  DACA recipients are sometimes called “dreamers”, stemming from the DREAM Act bill was to provide a pathway to permanent residency for unauthorized immigrants who met certain qualifications.  Congress had considered the act in 2007, but failed to overcome a bipartisan filibuster in the Senate.  The DREAM Act was reconsidered in 2011, passed in the house, but ultimately failed to achieve the sixty votes it needed in the Senate.

A few months after its establishment, DACA rules were challenged in courts and ultimately rescinded. The challenges to the policy trace back to November 2014 when President Barack Obama attempted to expand DACA with the aim of covering additional immigrants. However, multiple states sued to prevent said expansion, which resulted in the expansion being later blocked by the courts.

In response to the court’s decision, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the expansion earlier this year in June 2017 while continuing to review the existence of DACA as a whole.

In September 2017, the Trump administration began phasing out DACA, giving Congress time for a solution for current DACA recipients.

What does the DACA phase-out mean?

• New DACA applications have not been accepted since September 5, 2017
• DACA applications submitted prior to September 5, 2017 are processed normally
• If your DACA expires prior to March 5, 2018 you are eligible to renew
• If eligible, you can renew your DACA before October 5, 2017
• If not eligible (aka your DACA expires after March 5, 2018) it will be valid until its expiration date