What is Happening with DACA?

If you are confused as to the state of the DACA program, you are not alone. It feels like there are never ending court decisions and headlines and they are all contradictory. Recently, the Supreme Court held that the Trump Administration’s termination of the DACA program was not lawful. However, the Supreme Court did not rule on the legality of the program. 

On July 16, 2021, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the DACA program is unlawful and ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop granting initial DACA applications. The order does not impact renewal applications. That leaves the question, what is the current state of the DACA program? 

As of the date of this article, USCIS is accepting initial and renewal applications. However, USCIS can only grant renewal applications. USCIS will also continue to accept and, in some cases, grant applications for advance parole for people who have been granted DACA. The Biden Administration issued a statement confirming they will appeal the ruling of the District Court in Texas.  

The Current State of DACA - What Applications Will USCIS Accept and What Applications will USCIS Reject?

In a recent order by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump Administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It is important to remember that the Court did not rule that DACA is lawful. The Court ruled that the administration’s termination of the program did not comply with the required legal provisions. In a later decision, a federal court ordered USCIS to accept new DACA applications and applications for Advance Parole. However, USCIS is not complying with that order. 

Currently, USCIS will accept DACA renewal applications and will issue one-year renewals on a case-by-case basis. It will not grant advance parole documents absent exceptional circumstances. USCIS will reject any applications filed by applicants who have never before been granted DACA. These rejections will likely be the source of many lawsuits in the very near future. Therefore, there may be a benefit to applicants who file new applications even if the applications will be rejected because it could make you eligible for benefits resulting from litigation.