On December 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is accepting new applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals also known as “DACA,” among other things. The announcement was made following a December 4, 2020 order from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which directed DHS to notify the public, within three (3) days, that it is accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under DACA.
According to DHS, effective December 7, 2020, USCIS is:
- Accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under DACA based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
- Accepting DACA renewal requests based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
- Accepting applications for advance parole documents based on the terms of the DACA policy prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
- Extending one-year grants of deferred action under DACA to two years; and
- Extending one-year employment authorization documents under DACA to two years.
While DHS is complying with the recent court order, it indicated that it may seek relief from the order.
DACA Background Highlights
- On August 15, 2012, USCIS began accepting requests for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals. DACA provides temporary protection from deportation and the opportunity to obtain work authorization for immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
- On September 5, 2017, DHS announced that it is rescinding the DACA program and published a memorandum and FAQ for more information.
- On September 8, 2017, the University of California and its President, Janet Napolitano, filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the administration from terminating the DACA program. The lawsuit went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the administration’s termination of DACA violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and must be vacated.
- On June 28, 2020, then Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf issued a memorandum directing all agency personnel, pending his review of the DACA program, to: (1) reject all pending and future initial requests for DACA; (2) reject all pending and future applications for advance parole without exceptional circumstances; and, (3) shorten DACA and EAD renewals from two-year to one-year period. A policy guidance was subsequently issued by USCIS on August 21, 2020.
- On November 14, 2020, a federal judge ruled that acting DHS secretary Chad Wolf was unlawfully serving in his position when he issued the July 28, 2020 memorandum, which adversely altered the DACA program.
