The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is an American immigration policy that allows certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for a work permit.
DACA recipients are often referred to as "Dreamers" after the DREAM Act, a bipartisan bill first introduced in 2001 that would have provided a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants. The DREAM Act did not pass Congress, but DACA was later created by the Obama administration through an executive action in 2012.
Since DACA was announced, over 800,000 undocumented immigrants have been approved for the program. However, DACA has been winding down since 2017, when the Trump administration announced its intention to end the program. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's decision to end DACA was arbitrary and unlawful, but the program has not been restored to its full extent.
DACA applicants must prove that they arrived in the United States before their 16th birthday and that they have lived in the country continuously since June 15, 2007. They must also be currently enrolled in school, have graduated from high school or obtained a GED, or be honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or Coast Guard. Applicants cannot have been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors, and they must not pose a threat to national security or Is DACA accepting new applications 2022? The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is not currently accepting new applications for 2022. However, the program may open up for new applications at some point in the future. What is a significant misdemeanor for DACA? A significant misdemeanor is a misdemeanor offense that is punishable by a maximum sentence of more than one year, or that results in a sentence of more than 90 days. This includes, but is not limited to, offenses such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, burglary, and drug trafficking.
What does Deferred Action mean USCIS?
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is an American immigration policy that allows certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for a work permit.
DACA does not provide a pathway to citizenship or permanent residency; it is a discretionary, case-by-case determination that must be renewed every two years. DACA recipients are sometimes referred to as "Dreamers", after the DREAM Act, a proposed but never enacted legislative measure that would have provided a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children.
The policy was announced by President Barack Obama on June 15, 2012, and took effect on August 15, 2012. As of June 2016, about 728,000 immigrants had been granted DACA status.
DACA has been the subject of several lawsuits, and in September 2017, the Trump administration announced that it would rescind the policy, with a six-month delay to give Congress time to pass legislation to replace it. Several bills to replace DACA have been introduced in Congress, but none have been passed. In the meantime, multiple federal courts have issued rulings blocking the Trump administration from rescinding DACA.
Can you get deported if you have DACA?
Yes, you can get deported if you have DACA. However, it is important to note that DACA recipients are not considered to be lawfully present in the United States, and as such, they are not entitled to many of the same protections as other immigrants who are in the country legally. This means that, while DACA recipients are not considered to be priorities for deportation, they can still be deported if they are found to be in violation of the terms of their status.