The Confusing State of DACA

UPDATE: As of December 7, 2020, to comply with a recent court order, DHS has restored DACA to its original form and is now accepting new DACA and advance parole applications. Please contact us today at theteam@huwelaw.com or 415-849-1199 for assistance!

On Tuesday, July 28th, Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") Acting Secretary Chad Wolf issued a memo instructing DHS to:

• Reject all initial requests for DACA and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents,

• Reject new and pending requests for advanced parole absent exceptional circumstances, and

• Limit the period of renewed deferred action granted pursuant to the DACA policy after the issuance of this memorandum to one year.

This announcement was made despite recent US Supreme Court and federal district court orders instructing the federal government to reinstate the DACA program as it was initially designed and to again accept DACA applications for initial applicants. 

Due to the federal government's apparent defiance of these court orders, DACA is currently in a limbo state. Class action lawsuits have been brought on behalf of initial DACA applicants whose applications will now be rejected. 

What does this announcement mean in practice?

If you are an initial applicant for DACA, or a DACA recipient who has recently applied for advance parole, your applications will likely be rejected and returned to you. Pending litigation may result in the applications eventually being accepted, but only time will tell.

If you are in this situation, you may have other options under immigration law. Contact us at theteam@huwelaw.com or 415-849-1199 to find out if we can help.