DACA
What does "DACA" mean in law?
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an executive branch policy announced in 2012 that exercises prosecutorial discretion to defer removal and grant work authorization to certain undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children. Eligibility requires continuous residence since June 15, 2007, presence in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, arrival before age 16, and no disqualifying criminal history. DACA does not confer lawful immigration status but provides a renewable two-year period of deferred action and employment authorization. The program's legality has been extensively litigated, raising significant questions about the scope of executive authority in immigration -- in DHS v. Regents of the University of California (2020), the Supreme Court held that the Trump administration's rescission of DACA was arbitrary and capricious under the APA, applying the Chevron framework of agency deference.
Definition
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an executive branch policy announced in 2012 that exercises prosecutorial discretion to defer removal and grant work authorization to certain undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children. Eligibility requires continuous residence since June 15, 2007, presence in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, arrival before age 16, and no disqualifying criminal history. DACA does not confer lawful immigration status but provides a renewable two-year period of deferred action and employment authorization. The program's legality has been extensively litigated, raising significant questions about the scope of executive authority in immigration -- in DHS v. Regents of the University of California (2020), the Supreme Court held that the Trump administration's rescission of DACA was arbitrary and capricious under the APA, applying the Chevron framework of agency deference.
Example
A 25-year-old college student who was brought to the U.S. at age three applies for DACA, receiving deferred action from removal and a work permit that must be renewed every two years.