On April 24, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fully reinstate the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but has stayed (delayed) its order for 90 days to give DHS an opportunity to provide legal reasoning defending the rescission of the program. On September 5, 2017, the Trump Administration announced the end of the DACA program, an Obama era executive order that provided certain benefits to some individuals who illegally came to the U.S. before their 16th birthday. To learn more about the DACA program please click here.
This order came after the January 9, 2018 injunction order issued by U.S. District Judge William Alsup that temporarily suspended Trump’s phasing out of DACA recipients, at which point USCIS resumed to accept DACA renewal applications. The 90 day stay of order means that, should DHS fail to provide a legal basis for the rescission of DACA that satisfies the federal court, DHS is required to accept new DACA applications and advanced parole applications starting July 23, 2018. This court order will not have an immediate impact on current or potential DACA beneficiaries until then.
