Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

February 17, 2015

On June 15, 2012, former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano issued a memorandum announcing that DHS will offer deferred action for two years to certain young people who came to the United States as children and meet other eligibility criteria. Individuals who receive deferred action will not be placed into removal proceedings or removed from the United States for the duration of the grant. Individuals in removal proceedings, those with final orders or a voluntary departure order, and those who have never been in removal proceedings can affirmatively request deferred action from USCIS as long as they are not in immigration detention.

On June 5, 2014 current DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the process for individuals to renew enrollment in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has submitted to the Federal Register an updated form to allow individuals previously enrolled in DACA, to renew their deferral for a period of two years. At the direction of the Secretary, effective immediately, USCIS will begin accepting renewal requests. USCIS will also continue to accept requests for DACA from individuals who have not previously sought to access the program. As of April 2014, more than 560,000 individuals have received DACA.

If you visit  http://www.aila.org/infonet/curated-research/daca various information regarding DACA can be found. This information includes: ‘Criteria and Forms, Official Agency Memos, Announcements & Statistics, AILA Press Statements and Correspondence, Guidance for Practitioners, Issue Papers and Talking Points, and many more Additional Resources.’

If you are still confused about what DACA entails feel free to visit http://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-process/frequently-asked-questions