Immigration: DACA Renewals

On June 15, 2012, President Obama signed a Memorandum which allowed Deferred Action for certain undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children and have pursued education or military service here.  President Obama wanted a new immigration program to help young immigrants who may have come to the US unlawfully, or remained unlawfully, through no fault of their own.

The first applications under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) were filed on August 15, 2012.  The DACA Program is a “no status” program.  DACA does not provide a “status” to an undocumented person.  Deferred Action means that US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is formally notifying the undocumented young person that it will not take any action against them to deport or remove them from the US.  The DACA Program allows a young person to come forward and present himself/herself to USCIS, and request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD card) for a period of two years.  Once the young person receives his EAD card, he can then apply for a Social Security number and a local state driver’s license.  The Program grants youth brought to the US as minors two years of temporary deferral. 

It is estimated that more than 500,000 undocumented young people have applied for and received DACA.  But, DACA will soon expire for many recipients.  Since DACA was enacted through a Presidential Memorandum, no one knows the future of the DACA Program when President Obama is no longer in office. 

Recently, US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced that those young people who received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals will be allowed to renew their deferrals for another two years.

The DACA Program is still open and ongoing.  Anyone who did not previously apply is still able to do so, even if that person is applying for the very first time. To qualify, the undocumented person must meet the following criteria:

1                 Be in the US

2                 Be between the age of 15-30 years old  (under 31 years of age as of June 15, 2012)

3                 Have a high school diploma or GED, have served in the US military, or be currently enrolled in school (even enrollment in a local GED program will suffice)

4                 Have come to the US before age 16

5                 Have been in the US at least 5 years as of June 15, 2012

6                 Have not been convicted of one serious crime or multiple minor crimes

President Obama is scheduled to leave office on January 20, 2017.  No one knows the future of the DACA Program under a new President.  If you or someone you know may qualify for DACA, it is important to apply as soon as possible. 

There are millions of undocumented youth who do not qualify for DACA, and they continue to be the DREAMERS.   The DREAM ACT ( Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) was a Bill first introduced in the US Senate on August 1, 2001, S. 1291  to provide conditional permanent resident status to certain immigrants of good morale character who graduate from U.S. high schools, arrived in the United States as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment.