Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (also known as DACA), ordered by the Obama administration in 2012, is a program that has offered temporary protection from deportation to nearly 800,000 people who were brought to the country illegally as children, allowing them to obtain work permits, be eligible for driver’s licenses, and complete schooling.

To have been eligible for DACA, applicants must have entered the U.S illegally before their 16th birthday, been younger than 31 before 2012, haven’t been convicted of a felony or major misdemeanors, and must have been in school, graduated from school or are honorably discharged veterans of the armed forces or Coast Guard.

New York State has almost 42,000 DACA recipients. Of those 42,000 recipients, 30,000 live in New York City.

DACA Facts:

On September 5, 2017, DACA was rescinded by the Trump Administration. The effective end date will be March 5, 2018. However, work permits will continue to be valid until they expire, event past March 5, 2018.

Unfortunately, no new DACA applications can be filed as of September 5. If an initial application was already filed and was pending on September 5, 2017, it will be decided as usual.

DACA applicants cannot apply for Advance Parole. If a DACA Advance Parole application was pending on September 5, 2017, the filing fee will be refunded and the application will be “administratively closed” (this means that the application will not be approved).

NY Lawsuit Against the DACA Rescission:

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman led a coalition of 16 Attorneys General in filing suit to protect DACA grantees. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, details how the Trump administration has violated the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution by discriminating against DREAMers of Mexican origin, who make up 78% of DACA recipients; violated Due Process rights; and harmed States’ residents, institutions, and economies.

Congressional Action:

Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with five other senators, have introduced the BRIDGE Act (also known as “ Bar Removal of I ndividuals Who Dream and Grow Our Economy”), bipartisan legislation whose intent is to allow people who are eligible for or who have received work authorization and temporary relief from deportation through DACA to continue living in the U.S. with permission from the federal government.

Differences Between DACA and The BRIDGE Act:

DACA is a type of “deferred action” created through an executive action of the Obama administration. The Trump administration had the authority to end it without having to consult with or get approval from Congress.

The BRIDGE Act is a proposed law, introduced by members of Congress that would to grant provisional protected presence and work authorization to certain non–U.S. citizens for a maximum of three years. If the BRIDGE Act is enacted, its provisions would remain in effect until Congress either changed them or repealed the law. This would provide more protection to applicants for provisional protected presence than recipients of DACA currently have.

This is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney if you have any questions.

About The Author

Elektra is the founder and principal attorney at The Law Office of Elektra B. Yao a full service, comprehensive immigration and general practice law firm. Ms. Yao is admitted to the New York Bar and she practices U.S. Immigration and Nationality law and Deportation Defense in all jurisdictions of the United States of America. Ms. Yao earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts from Marymount Manhattan College in NYC in 2008 and earned her Juris Doctor from Lewis and Clark Law School, a nationally ranked, top-tier law school in 2011. In 2010, she studied in London under Loukas Mistelis, the Professor and Director of the School of Arbitration at the prestigious UK law school Queen Mary University. Ms. Yao also studied at the University of Beijing Law School, the leading Chinese law school, where she earned a Certificate in Chinese business and civil law; along with studying at the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris, France and in Florence, Italy where she earned Certificates in Comparative Law. Ms. Yao was also invited to study Eastern European Law at Eotvos Lorand University, the best law school in Hungary. She has also completed all of the coursework for a Master’s in Law in European and Spanish Law from the University of Salamanca. She holds multiple Certificates in Italian and European Immigration Law and Policy. Ms. Yao spent several years working for leading boutique immigration law firms where she developed her expertise in employment based and family based immigration law. Ms. Yao is highly experienced and proficient in US and EU Immigration Law and Policy. As such, Ms. Yao has provided her immigration legal services to businesses and individuals in the US, Italy, Spain, and Cote d’Ivoire. Ms. Yao has lived, studied, and worked internationally in the US, the EU, and Africa and she is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and English.