Following President Donald Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action Against Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials announced implementation details.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on September 5 that DACA, an executive amnesty created under the Obama Administration, would be phased out over a six-month period, Breitbart News reported. “I’m here today to announce that the program known as DACA that was effectuated by the Obama administration is being rescinded,” Sessions told reporters. He called for an “orderly and lawful wind-down.” USCIS officials announced on Tuesday the governments plan to begin phasing out the program that many legal scholars believe began illegally.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will provide a limited, six-month window during which it will consider certain requests for DACA and applications for work authorization, under specific parameters,” officials wrote in Tuesday’s announcement.
Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke wrote:
Taking into consideration the Supreme Court’s and the Fifth Circuit’s rulings in the ongoing litigation, and the September 4, 2017 letter from the Attorney General, it is clear that the June 15, 2012 DACA program should be terminated. In the exercise of my authority in establishing national immigration policies and priorities, except for the purposes explicitly identified below, I hereby rescind the June 15, 2012 memorandum.
Recognizing the complexities associated with winding down the program, the Department will provide a limited window in which it will adjudicate certain requests for DACA and associated applications meeting certain parameters specified below. Accordingly, effective immediately, the Department:
- Will adjudicate—on an individual, case-by-case basis—properly filed pending DACA initial requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents that have been accepted by the Department as of the date of this memorandum.
- Will reject all DACA initial requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents filed after the date of this memorandum.
- Will adjudicate—on an individual, case by case basis—properly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents from current beneficiaries that have been accepted by the Department as of the date of this memorandum, and from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between the date of this memorandum and March 5, 2018 that have been accepted by the Department as of October 5, 2017.
- Will reject all DACA renewal requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents filed outside of the parameters specified above.
- Will not terminate the grants of previously issued deferred action or revoke Employment Authorization Documents solely based on the directives in this memorandum for the remaining duration of their validity periods.
- Will not approve any new Form I-131 applications for advance parole under standards associated with the DACA program, although it will generally honor the stated validity period for previously approved applications for advance parole. Notwithstanding the continued validity of advance parole approvals previously granted, CBP will—of course—retain the authority it has always had and exercised in determining the admissibility of any person presenting at the border and the eligibility of such persons for parole. Further, USCIS will—of course—retain the authority to revoke or terminate an advance parole document at any time.
- Will administratively close all pending Form I-131 applications for advance parole filed under standards associated with the DACA program, and will refund all associated fees.
- Will continue to exercise its discretionary authority to terminate or deny deferred action at any time when immigration officials determine termination or denial of deferred action is appropriate.
To assist illegal immigrants who may or may not currently be in the DACA program, USCIS officials released the following:
| If … | Then … |
|---|---|
| You currently have DACA | You will retain both your period of deferred action and your employment authorization document (EAD) until they expire, unless terminated or revoked.
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| USCIS received your properly filed initial or renewal DACA request and associated application for an EAD on or before Sept. 5, 2017 | We will continue adjudicating your request.
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| Your DACA expires between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, and you wish to renew it | USCIS must receive your properly filed renewal request on or before Oct. 5, 2017.
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| You did not request initial DACA on or before Sept. 5, 2017 | The DACA process is no longer available to you.
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| Your DACA expired on or before Sept. 4, 2017, and you did not properly file your renewal request on or before Sept. 5, 2017 | The DACA process is no longer available to you.
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| You have DACA and your still-valid EAD is lost, stolen, or destroyed | You may submit Form I-765 to request a replacement EAD. |
