News > Immigration In The United States
DACA will stay, but administration says no to DAPA, expanded DACA
Posted on Jun 16 2017
On June 15, the fifth anniversary of DACA, the Department of Homeland Security said that, “The June 15, 2012 memorandum that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will remain in effect.”
The continuation of DACA represents a reversal of Trump’s campaign promises to repeal DACA, and will anger many of his anti-immigrant supporters. The DACA program, which has offered protection to about 800,000 young people, has wide public backing:
“But once in office, Mr. Trump faced a new reality: the political risks of targeting for deportation a group of people who are viewed sympathetically by many Americans. In some cases, the immigrants did not know they were in the country illegally. Many attended American schools from the time they were in kindergarten.”
The same DHS memorandum officially rescinded DAPA and DACA+, saying that “there is no credible path forward to litigate the currently enjoined policy.”
President Barack Obama established DACA in 2012. In 2015, he tried to expand DACA to cover more young people (DACA+) and to establish DAPA – Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Legal Permanent Residents. (DAPA would not have covered parents of DACA recipients, because DACA recipients had no path to permanent legal residence or citizenship.)
DACA+ would have removed the requirement that DACA applicants be “under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012.” DACA+ also allowed a three-year work permit extension, rather than the two-year extension allowed in the first DACA orders.
Texas and 25 other states sued to stop DAPA and DACA+. They succeeded, with the district court issuing a preliminary injunction, which was then affirmed by the 5th Circuit. The Supreme Court, in a one-line decision issued June 23, 2016, allowed the preliminary injunction to stand. That ruling sent the case back to the district court for trial.
The June 15 2017 memorandum from the Department of Homeland Security means that the government will not defend DAPA and DACA+ in the district court.
That leaves in place the official USCIS guidelines for DACA:
Guidelines
You may request DACA if you:
- Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
- Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday;
- Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
- Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS;
- Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012;
- Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
- Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor,or three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.
Age Guidelines
Anyone requesting DACA must have been under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012. You must also be at least 15 years or older to request DACA, unless you are currently in removal proceedings or have a final removal or voluntary departure order…
The DHS memorandum included a link to a Frequently Asked Questions page, which has this to say about work permits:
“DACA recipients will continue to be eligible as outlined in the June 15, 2012 memorandum. DACA recipients who were issued three-year extensions before the district court’s injunction will not be affected, and will be eligible to seek a two-year extension upon their expiration. No work permits will be terminated prior to their current expiration dates.”
All of this leaves DACA recipients where they were before the June 15 DHS memorandum: with no path to legal residence or citizenship, but with temporary and limited protection, dependent on continuing presidential executive orders. And that’s not a secure position, as a DHS spokesperson pointed out in a New York Times interview:
“There has been no final determination made about the DACA program, which the president has stressed needs to be handled with compassion and with heart,” said Jonathan Hoffman, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the department. He added that John F. Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, “ has noted that Congress is the only entity that can provide a long-term solution to this issue.”
Want to read more?
- Text of June 15 2017 DHS memorandum rescinding DAPA and DACA+
- FAQs for June 15, 2017 memorandum
- Rules for DACA eligibility
- Kelly revokes Obama order shielding immigrant parents of U.S. citizens (Washington Post, 6/16/17)
- ‘Dreamers’ to stay in U.S. for now, but long-term fate unclear (New York Times, 6/16/17)