New DACA Applications Put on Hold

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week that it will not process new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program until a thorough program review can be conducted.  DHS also stated that it will limit renewals of current DACA recipients’ status to one year.  

The moves were an unexpected response to the Supreme Court decision in June that said earlier efforts by the Trump Administration to rescind the program were arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.  

The DHS policy position came in the form of a memo that identifies the following immediate changes to DACA:

• All initial requests for DACA and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents will be rejected;
• New and pending requests for advanced parole absent exceptional circumstances will be rejected; and,
• The period of renewed deferred action granted pursuant to the DACA policy after the issuance of this memorandum will be limited to one year.

The latest moves by the courts and the administration could lead to more lawsuits, and puts increased pressure on Congress to act on DACA, although election year political pressures will play a heavy role in the ability of either party to compromise on this contentious issue.