Daca's Legal History: When Did It Become Law?

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an American immigration policy that became law in 2012. The policy was announced by President Barack Obama on June 15, 2012, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications on August 15, 2012.

DACA was created in 2012 by the Obama administration

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a United States immigration policy that was created in 2012 by the Obama administration. It was announced by President Barack Obama on June 15, 2012, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications for the program on August 15, 2012.

DACA is a temporary program that provides relief from deportation and work authorization for immigrants brought to the United States as children. To be eligible for DACA, applicants must have entered the country before turning 16 and been under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012. They must also have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, and have no criminal record.

The creation of DACA was the result of a campaign by immigrants, advocates, and supporters to provide a pathway to legal status for young people who were brought to the United States as children. DACA does not provide a path to citizenship, but it allows eligible individuals to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for work permits.

DACA has had a significant impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, providing them with the ability to work legally, pursue education, and plan their lives without the constant threat of deportation. It has also had positive socioeconomic effects, with DACA recipients experiencing improved wages, employment, and psychological well-being.

However, DACA has faced legal challenges and political opposition since its creation. In September 2017, the Trump administration announced its intention to rescind DACA, which was met with protests and legal challenges. The Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the Trump administration's attempt to terminate the program was unlawful, but the program's future remains uncertain as legal challenges continue.

It was announced by President Barack Obama on 15 June 2012

On 15 June 2012, President Barack Obama announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a United States immigration policy. DACA was created to allow certain individuals who were physically present in the United States on 15 June 2012, without lawful immigration status, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for an employment authorisation document (work permit).

The policy was created in recognition of the fact that "Dreamer" young people had been largely raised in the United States, and this was seen as a way to remove immigration enforcement attention from "low priority" individuals with good behaviour. "Dreamers" get their name from the DREAM Act, a bill that aimed to grant legal status to young immigrants residing in the U.S. unlawfully after being brought in by their parents.

DACA was formally initiated by a policy memorandum sent from then-Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, to the heads of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The memorandum directed these agencies to exercise their enforcement discretion on behalf of individuals who met the requirements.

To be eligible for the program, recipients could not have felonies or serious misdemeanours on their records. President Obama explained the limits of DACA, stating:

> "Let's be clear -- this is not amnesty, this is not immunity... This is not a path to citizenship."

USCIS began accepting applications for the program on 15 August 2012.

DACA does not provide a path to citizenship

On June 15, 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy was established by the Obama Administration. DACA is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigration status after having entered the country as children at least five years earlier, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for an employment authorization document (work permit).

DACA recipients do not have legal status and do not accrue unlawful presence time in the United States while they are in deferred action status. However, they are considered to be lawfully present in the United States during this period. This means that they can apply for a green card from within the country, even if they have spent time in the country without a valid legal status.

To be eligible for DACA, applicants must meet several requirements, including arriving in the United States before turning 16 and being under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012. They must also have continuously resided in the country since June 15, 2007, and have no felonies or serious misdemeanors on their records.

While DACA does not provide a direct path to citizenship, there may be other ways for recipients to obtain permanent residence and eventually become citizens. For example, they can get a green card through marriage to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. Once they have a green card, they can apply for naturalization to become US citizens after a certain number of years.

DACA has been ruled unlawful by a federal judge in Texas

On July 16, 2021, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unlawful. The ruling barred the government from approving any new applications, but left the program intact for existing recipients during the expected appeals process.

The ruling was based on the grounds that President Barack Obama exceeded his authority when he created the program through executive action in 2012, rather than through legislation. Judge Hanen also noted that the Biden administration's 2022 final rule on DACA was not materially different from the 2012 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memorandum, which established the program.

The DACA program provides deportation protection and labour authorisation for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, often referred to as "Dreamers". There are currently an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 DACA recipients in the U.S.

The Biden administration has appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the case is expected to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time. In the meantime, current DACA recipients will retain their protection from deportation and work authorisation, as well as the ability to renew their status.

DACA recipients are often referred to as 'Dreamers'

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigration status on June 15, 2012, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for an employment authorization document (work permit). The policy was created after the acknowledgment that "Dreamer" young people had been largely raised in the United States, and this was seen as a way to remove immigration enforcement attention from "low-priority" individuals with good behavior.

"Dreamers" get their name from the DREAM Act, a bill that aimed to grant legal status to young immigrants residing in the U.S. unlawfully after being brought in by their parents. The undocumented young immigrant population was rapidly increasing, with approximately 65,000 undocumented immigrant students graduating from U.S. high schools annually. The vast majority of Dreamers are from Mexico.

DACA was created on June 15, 2012, by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano through an agency memorandum. The policy was officially established by a memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security titled "Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children". This policy allowed certain immigrants to escape deportation and obtain work permits for a period of two years, renewable upon good behavior.

To be eligible for DACA, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Arrived in the United States before turning 16 and were under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012
• Have continuously resided in the United States from June 15, 2007, to the present
• Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of the deferred action request
• Lacked lawful immigration status on June 15, 2012, and at the time of the deferred action request; or any previous lawful immigration status expired on or before those dates
• Are either in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces
• Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors occurring on different dates and arising out of different acts, omissions, or schemes of misconduct; and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety

DACA has enabled roughly 834,877 eligible young adults to work lawfully, attend school, and plan their lives without the constant threat of deportation, usually to an unfamiliar country. According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), more than 1.1 million U.S. residents were eligible for DACA as originally implemented. The Center for American Progress (CAP) estimates that the average DACA recipient arrived in the United States in 1999 at the age of 7, and that more than one-third of DACA recipients arrived before the age of 5.

DACA recipients, often referred to as Dreamers, have experienced pronounced upward mobility in their socioeconomic status. A national survey of DACA recipients found that 59.1% of respondents moved on to a job with better pay, 47.3% moved to a job with better working conditions, and 57.3% moved to a job with health insurance or other benefits. Moreover, 47.5% of respondents moved to a job that “better fits [their] education and training” and 49.6% moved to a job that “better fits [their] long-term career goals.” In addition, 19.6% obtained professional licenses.

DACA recipients have deep social and economic roots in the United States. According to CAP’s latest estimates, roughly 300,000 U.S.-born children have at least one parent who is a DACA recipient. A total of 1.3 million people share a home with a DACA recipient, and households containing DACA recipients pay $6.2 billion in federal taxes and $3.3 billion in state and local taxes each year.

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