Project Description
What is DACA?
“On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced [an immigration program called DACA] that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years subject to renewal. [The individuals are] also eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time. Deferred action does not provide lawful status” (US Citizenship and Immigration Services).
DACA Requirements provided by USCIS:
- Individual was under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
- Individual arrived in the United States before reaching their 16th birthday; have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time.
- The individual was physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012 and at the time of submitting the request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS.
- Individual 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 is an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States.
- The individual has 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.
Where are we today with the new Biden Administration? January 2021
- Here is the Section 1 segment of the Biden Administration’s Policy on DACA.
Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
“Section 1. Policy. In 2012, during the Obama-Biden Administration, the Secretary of Homeland Security issued a memorandum outlining how, in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, the Department of Homeland Security should enforce the Nation’s immigration laws against certain young people. This memorandum, known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) guidance, deferred the removal of certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, have obeyed the law, and stayed in school or enlisted in the military. DACA and associated regulations permit eligible individuals who pass a background check to request temporary relief from removal and to apply for temporary work permits. DACA reflects a judgment that these immigrants should not be a priority for removal based on humanitarian concerns and other considerations, and that work authorization will enable them to support themselves and their families, and to contribute to our economy, while they remain.”
For the rest of the “MEMORANDUM FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY” released to the public on January 20th, 2021, please visit the White House Government Website.