The federal government is expected to again accept new applications for a program that grants some people without legal immigration status the ability to live and work in the United States.
Lawyers for the federal government and immigrant advocates have presented plans before a federal judge that would open the door again to accepting applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA.
“While we are still waiting for an official decision, we believe our communities and families should be prepared and begin gathering the required documents,” said Michelle Celleri, legal rights director for local pro-democracy organization Alliance San Diego, in an emailed statement.
“When the DACA application process reopens for first-time applicants, Alliance San Diego will be here to support you with dignity along the way.”
It’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of people could be eligible to be enrolled in DACA, once a federal judge issues an order to formalize plans laid out by the Department of Justice in a legal filing made on Monday. The program, created under the Obama administration, grants people without legal immigration status who were brought into the country by their parents two-year, renewable permits to live and work in the U.S. legally.
The program has allowed people who were brought to the United States as children to temporarily remain in the country and obtain work permits. It does not confer legal status but provides protection from deportation.
Eligibility requirements include people who entered the country as children before their 16th birthday, were under 31 years old as of June 15, 2012, and have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three misdemeanors.
One state — Texas, where the case is being heard — however, would be exempted from providing work permits.
There would be restrictions related to work permits for those who reside in Texas, which filed a lawsuit against the DACA program in 2018.
Nothing changes yet
DOJ attorneys laid out the proposal before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen on Monday as part of the ongoing Texas lawsuit. It would allow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to take new and renewal applications for DACA across the country, which it has not done for four years.
In Texas, USCIS would take new and renewal applications for the DACA program but recipients residing in the state will not receive a work permit.
Attorneys representing DACA recipients proposed adding a wind-down period that would allow Texas residents to keep their work authorization for one more renewal period.
These proposals follow an earlier decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the program to continue with the work permit carveout in Texas.
The federal government and attorneys for DACA recipients have two more opportunities in October to file responses to the proposals submitted this week. Hanen, based in Houston, will then decide what proposal or combination of proposals to implement in his order.
Caution advised
Immigrant advocates are not celebrating yet but believe thousands may be eligible for the program. Aside from the over 533,000 who are enrolled already in DACA, about 1.1 million people may be eligible across the country, according to a 2023 estimate from the Migration Policy Institute.
People interested in applying were urged to start preparing. “While we are still waiting for an official decision, we believe our communities and families should be prepared and begin gathering the required documents,” Michelle Celleri, Legal Rights Director for Alliance San Diego, said in a statement.
Other advocates are cautiously optimistic. Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, a spokesperson for United We Dream, pointed to a section in the government’s proposal that could hint at changes. “These proposals do not limit DHS from undertaking any future lawful changes to DACA,” the government’s proposal said in Monday’s filing.
“We need to be able to look at this in a fuller picture than just this case, because we’re seeing the administration detain and deport DACA recipients,” Macedo do Nascimento said on Wednesday.
Hence then, the article about federal government could resume taking daca applications was published today ( ) and is available on Times of San Diego ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Federal government could resume taking DACA applications )
Also on site :
- Source: Crews recover drowning victim from Canandaigua Lake
- General Intuition lands $134M seed to teach agents spatial reasoning using video game clips
- Legendary Songwriter Gets 28th Billboard No. 1 After First Appearing on Charts in 1999