Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was established by the Obama Administration in June 2012. It was announced by President Barack Obama on June 15, 2012, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, began accepting DACA applications in August 2012.

Establishment
June 15, 2012, Memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security - This Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo describes the guidelines for granting or reviewing an individual's deferred action.

November 20, 2014, Memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security - This DHS memo supplements and amends the guidance stated in the June 15, 2012, memo and reflects new policies for the use of deferred action.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - This page provides information on how individuals are able to request consideration or renewal of deferred action under DACA.

Detailed History
Perchance to DREAM: A Legal and Political History of the DREAM Act and DACA (Michael A. Olivas, 2020)
Traces the origin of the DREAM Act and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals from the question of whether undocumented students who had exercised their right to a public education could then attend college in the U.S. in the early 1980s to the DREAM Act in 2001 to the establishment of DACA by President Barack Obama in 2012. The book discusses the turmoil along the way and suggests pathways toward a fairer future.

Current Status: Current grants of DACA remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization under the DACA regulations located at 8 CFR 236.22 and 236.23. USCIS will also accept initial DACA requests, but it cannot grant or process them, per the September 2023 order. To read more about the current state of DACA, review the USCIS's DACA page.

September 13, 2023: Federal Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the Department of Homeland Security’s Final Rule–which established regulations fortifying DACA's protections–was unlawful and could not be enforced. However, Judge Hanen allowed all individuals who had received their initial DACA status prior to July 16, 2021, to keep it while the case continues through the appeals process. The Biden Administration has appealed from Judge Hanen's ruling, and that appeal is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

October 5, 2022: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld Federal Judge Hanen’s July 2021 ruling that the DACA program--as created by the Obama Administration's 2012 memorandum--was unlawful. The Fifth Circuit remanded the case back to the Texas District Court to review whether the Final Rule that DHS promulgated in August 2022 could still be enforced. Read the Fifth Circuit’s ruling here. 

August 30, 2022: The Department of Homeland Security published a Final Rule that established regulations to preserve and fortify the DACA policy to defer removal of certain noncitizens who came to the United States as children. The Final Rule was due to go into effect on October 31, 2022, and it was meant to replace the Obama Administration's 2012 memorandum that created the DACA program.

July 16, 2021: Federal Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the DACA program is unlawful and blocked new applicants. The ruling allowed for immigrants currently protected by the program to keep their status while the case went through the appeals process.

January 20, 2021: President Biden issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, to take appropriate action to preserve and fortify DACA policies, consistent with applicable law. 

December 4, 2020: Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn vacated the July 2020 Wolf Memorandum and ordered the Department of Homeland Security to fully reinstate the DACA program. 

July 28, 2020: Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Mark Wolf issued a memorandum that amended the DACA program to prevent DHS from processing new DACA requests while permitting it to adjudicate all DACA renewal requests for beneficiaries who had already been granted DACA status.

June 18, 2020: By a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California that the Trump Administration acted improperly in terminating the DACA program, and it sent the case back for the Department of Homeland Security to take another look. The ruling meant that the DACA program would remain in place.

November 12 2019: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the case of Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, a high-profile challenge to the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate the DACA program.

June 28, 2019: The Supreme Court announced that it would hear arguments in three consolidated cases (including the case before Federal Judge Alsip) during its next term and issue its decision on whether the Trump Administration could discontinue the DACA program. 

January 13, 2018: The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that due to Federal Judge Alsip's injunction, it has "resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA."  Additionally, it stated that "DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017." Read an archived USCIS statement on DACA here.

January 9, 2018: In a matter involving the Regents of the University of California, Federal Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, issued a national injunction ordering the Trump Administration to re-start the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Judge Alsup wrote that the administration must “maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis” as the legal challenge to President Trump's decision to halt the program goes forward in the courts.

September 5, 2017: Acting Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, Elaine C. Duke, issued a memorandum rescinding the Obama Administration's June 15, 2012, memorandum that established the DACA program.