As it stands, there are roughly 800,000 individuals in the United States who have been granted protection under DACA. The DACA program, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was implemented on 2012 during the Obama administration. This program provided certain children who immigrated to the U.S. as children to remain and obtain an education. However, on September 5, 2017, President Trump and his administration announced that there would be a rescission for the DACA program.
When implemented, DACA granted children who were in the United States illegally the right to deferred action for up to 2 years. After this period, the deferment was subject to renewal. Now, countless individuals who currently have DACA, applied for DACA, planned to apply for DACA, or need to renew their DACA are worried about their status in the United States.
For individuals who do not currently have DACA, or had a pending DACA application, the program will no longer accept new applications. Only DACA applications received by the USCIS by September 5, 2017, will be processed. Anything received later than this date will not be considered due to the official termination of the program. That being said, if you have DACA that expires on or before March 5, 2018, you must have applied for a renewal by October 5, 2017.
If you did not apply for renewal by this date, you cannot receive an extension on DACA or your work permit, which will no longer be protected in the United States by the expiration date. In other words, you could be subject to deportation.
DACA recipients should also consider other ways in which these changes may impact their future plans. Individuals who are protected by DACA may continue to travel outside of the U.S. if they have valid advance parole travel documents. They also must return to the United States prior to the expiration of those documents.
For information about DACA rescission and how it might impact your status in the United States, contact Guerra Sáenz, PL in our Fort Lauderdale office.
