On September 13, 2023, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the Biden Administration’s codification of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) is not legal. The ruling does not prevent DACA beneficiaries enrolled in the program prior to July 16, 2021, to renew their status. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will also continue to accept new applications from first-time, would-be DACA recipients; However, they will not process any new applications.
Read moreDACA in Jeopardy
Undocumented Immigrants Also Paid Their Taxes
April 18th marked Tax Day for citizens of US, but did you know that undocumented immigrants also pay taxes? According to the American Immigration Council undocumented immigrants are paying billions of dollars each year in taxes. In spite of their undocumented status, and lack of standing in our country, “these immigrants—and their family members—are adding value to the U.S. economy, not only as taxpayers, but as workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs as well.” Millions of people who lack social security numbers are filing taxes with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (“ITIN”).
Read moreDACA is Codified, but Remains in Jeopardy
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program celebrated a decade of existence earlier this year. DACA went into effect as an executive order signed by President Obama to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors without “the formal agency rulemaking process, which requires public notice and comment”. It was intended as a “stopgap measure to protect some of the nation’s most vulnerable immigrants”, from deportation and allow beneficiaries to obtain work authorization and reside legally in the US. DACA was never meant to be a permanent solution but a means to be used for a limited time until Congress passed new immigration legislation addressing the immigration status of certain undocumented minors.
Read moreDreamers Living in Fear
When Dreamers Find Themselves in Limbo
A decade ago, President Obama signed an executive order instituting The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program, which protects undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors. This program acknowledges that the beneficiaries have been raised in the United States and “pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one - on paper.” The program was a temporary solution which does not provide a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship in the United States. Instead, it was intended as a “stopgap measure to protect some of the nation’s most vulnerable immigrants”, known as Dreamers, from deportation. The program also enabled beneficiaries to obtain work authorization and reside legally in the US in two-year intervals. DACA was created as a temporary measure until Congress passed new immigration legislation addressing the immigration status of certain undocumented minors.
Read moreLet’s Treat Dreamers like the Americans they Are
Stop Using Dreamers as Bargaining Chips
Judge Orders Full Reinstatement of DACA Program
Last week on December 4, 2020, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the US District Court in Brooklyn ordered that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must immediately fully reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, reversing a memorandum issued this summer by Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf that restricted the program to those already enrolled. Judge Garaufis ordered that DHS post a public notice stating that it is accepting new, initial DACA applications with work permits that are valid for two years and that DACA recipients are eligible to apply for Advance Parole for international travel. Judge Garaufis also directed the government to notify immigrants eligible for DACA to let them know of the change.
Read moreUSCIS Implements DHS Guidance on DACA
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) released guidance late last month on how they will implement Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf’s July 28 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) memorandum, which was issued after the Supreme Court rejected in June the Trump administration's attempt to rescind the DACA program.
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