Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, is a program that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. It was put in place in 2012 when Obama was the President. Soon after Donald Trump took office he denounced Obama’s immigration policies, saying he believed that it was an executive overreach. And on Tuesday, Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration would not protect from the deportation of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors.
DACA will be phased out instead of completely throwing it out immediately. It is said that the gradual phase out could protect immigrants from deportation until October 2019.
In the meantime, it is important for people who are being protected by DACA to remember a few things…
Your DACA is valid until its expiration date – you can determine when your DACA and work permit expire by looking at your I-795 Approval Notice and the bottom of your Employment Authorization Document.
No new DACA applications will be accepted after September 5, 2017.
DACA issuances and work permits expiring between now and March 5, 2018 must be submitted for renewal by October 5, 2017.
Advance Parole to travel abroad is no longer available – The Department of Homeland Security will no longer grant DACA recipients permission to travel abroad through Advance Parole. Any pending applications will not be processed and DHS will refund any associated fees.
The most important thing to know is that you are not alone. We will continue to protect the immigrant youth. This is a hard time, so make sure you take care of yourselves and do what you can to take action now.