As a September 5th deadline looms, we have been keeping a close eye on the news to see what might happen to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). While campaigning, President Trump had said he would end the program if he won. After he won, he said that DACA recipients could “rest easy” and it seemed that DACA would remain. As of the past week or so, it seems that DACA may be canceled.
Not much is known right now about what will happen, but if any action is to be taken, we expect it to be before September 5th. That’s a court deadline for the currently pending DAPA litigation. If the government does not cancel the DACA program by then, it’s expected that Texas and the other states will include DACA in their legal challenge. DAPA has already been rescinded by the Department of Homeland Security. Another option would be for the administration to fight for DACA in court, but that is unlikely to happen.
It seems that President Trump is considering ending DACA in a way that would allow current DACA recipients to finish out the time left on their DACA status, but not allow new applications or renewals. However, we will have to wait to see what happens and what the full consequences will be. This means that the approximately 800,000 DACA recipients and their families will be in limbo until President Trump and the administration decide what they will do. We will keep updating you via our blog and social media, but please call and speak to one of our immigration attorneys if you have questions or concerns or stop by our office to pick up some of our Know Your Rights materials to be prepared. If you currently have DACA and may have another way to gain immigration status, we recommend you talk to an immigration attorney immediately, to explore all possible options for immigration relief.
In the meanwhile, we suggest you review this Community Advisory from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center: https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/if_daca_ends.pdf