Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Updates

On July 20, 2017, lawmakers announced the Dream Act of 2017, a bipartisan bill that would provide young people brought to this country as children and who grew up in the United States -- also known as "Dreamers" -- the chance to apply for lawful permanent residence if they meet certain requirements.

This bill differs from the current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in its requirements and potential benefits for recipients. For details on this new bill, see the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)'s Featured Issue on the Dream Act of 2017.

The Dream Act of 2017 gives hope to Dreamers despite the uncertain future of the DACA program. Although candidate Trump's presidential campaign promised to eliminate DACA, that has not yet come to pass. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a statement on June 15, 2017, rescinding Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) before its implementation, while simultaneously indicating that the original DACA program is currently ongoing and unaffected by DAPA’s rescission.

On June 29, 2017, following the DHS statement, 10 attorneys general and one governor signed a letter threatening to sue the Trump administration unless the government announces a phasing out of DACA by September 5, 2017. However, in response to that letter, 20 attorneys general signed a separate letter on July 21, 2017, urging the government to defend the DACA program.

Given these recent statements, as well as the current administration's hard stance on immigration, the fate of the DACA program remains unclear. For up-to-date information regarding DACA applications and renewals, please contact Murphy Desmond at (608) 270-5550 to schedule an immigration consultation with Attorney Glorily A. López or Attorney Maryam Ghayyad.

Information current as of August 2, 2017