Hello, we are the Immigration Team at Song Law Firm.
On September 13th, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a decision finding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was implemented by President Barack Obama’s executive order in 2012, unlawful. The court declared that the revised DACA program, introduced by the Biden administration, exceeds the authority set by the federal constitution and is essentially no different from the previous DACA program. This has led to reports that the Biden administration is likely to appeal this decision.
However, it is important to note that this decision does not result in an immediate halt to the DACA program. The court maintained a partial stay of the order for “all DACA recipients who received their initial DACA status prior to July 16, 2021.” Accordingly, current grants of DACA and related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated. Furthermore, it has been decided that there will be a partial stay for all DACA recipients who received their initial DACA status before July 16, 2021.
In response to this, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) announced its policies regarding the court decision on September 18th. According to the policy, existing DACA recipients and those with Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) will continue to be valid unless they voluntarily withdraw their status. Additionally, USCIS will continue to accept and process DACA renewal and employment authorization applications.
However, it is worth noting that while initial DACA applications will still be accepted, they will not be processed in accordance with the court’s order. Therefore, this means that no new initial DACA applications will be accepted.
This announcement may provide some relief to current DACA beneficiaries, but it would be bad news for those who need to apply for DACA for the first time. We urge individuals who are affected by the DACA program to stay tuned to relevant news updates.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Song Law Firm.