What is DACA?
DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, protects certain young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Those eligible include children brought to the U.S. without documentation while under the age of 16 and/or children of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for a specific period of time (since 2007). Although DACA does not function as a pathway to citizenship, it provides young undocumented immigrants with work authorizations.
What’s the issue with the DACA program?
In July 2021, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ruled the DACA program to be unlawful, citing a breach of the formal rulemaking process. Instead of providing public “notice and comment,” former DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary Janet Napolitano bypassed crucial steps in the rulemaking process.
The latest court decision
In September 2021, the Biden Administration appealed Judge Hanen’s decision.
In October 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal and confirmed DACA as unlawful. Although the program is up for review, for now, the future of DACA remains uncertain.
Under Judge Hanen’s ruling, current DACA recipients (also known as Dreamers) can continue to renew but first-time requests will be denied.
Dreamers not in the clear yet
Ten years after the program was introduced, DACA continues to face challenges in the federal court system. While the three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court did not order DACA to be shut down immediately, they did order first-time applications to be rejected. The Biden Administration’s revisions to the policy are set to take effect on October 31, 2022, pending Judge Hanen’s review.
What does this mean for DACA recipients?
The newly revised policy is not much different from the original program created in 2012. Although the new policy fails to address critical issues like processing delays and eligibility pools, by following the formal steps of the rulemaking process, DACA already has a much stronger defense against its critics. This time around, DHS was able to collect over 16,000 public comments and successfully prove DACA as legitimate. Still, the three-judge panel seems unconvinced of the program’s legality.
For now, DACA is temporarily reinstated but no new applications will be accepted.
What does this mean for the United States?
A recent report focused on immigration and criminal justice reform predicts that the end of DACA will affect more than just young undocumented immigrants. The end of DACA could cost the U.S. 22,000 jobs every month for two full years. The report suggests that cutting off DACA renewals could be devastating to the U.S. economy. But the cost is more than financial– it’s about peace of mind. Every day for those two years, one thousand American citizens will have to worry about an immediate family member being deported.
Dreamers remain hopeful
But current DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged the success of DACA and promised to protect it. “Thanks to DACA, we have been enriched by young people who contribute so much to our communities and our country,” Mayorkas said. Mayorkas is instrumental in pushing Congress for a more permanent solution for Dreamers– namely, a pathway to citizenship. If the revisions are not accepted and/or the DACA program is forced to end, DHS pledges to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court for what will be the third time.
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