What You Need to Know About DACA
Demonstrators hold signs during a rally supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), or the Dream Act, outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18.
Photographer: Zach Gibson/BloombergPresident Donald Trump said in September 2017 he was ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the "Dreamers" program that President Barack Obama created in 2012 to shield young, undocumented immigrants from deportation. Trump delayed his edict until March 2018 to give Congress time to craft a replacement, but talks to extend the program got bogged down in budget negotiations, resulting in the three-day government shutdown. Trump now says he would consider opening the door to citizenship for the Dreamers if that’s part of a deal that includes his own immigration priorities.
It’s a policy that allows certain undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children before 2007 to apply for renewable, two-year permits that protect them from deportation and allow them to work legally. Applicants must have been less than 16 years old when they arrived and younger than 31 when DACA began in 2012. They must have no significant criminal record and be enrolled in high school or have a diploma or the equivalent. The program doesn’t provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship.