On Tuesday morning (Sept. 5), Attorney General of the United States Jeff Sessions announced Donald Trump has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration (DACA) policy, the Obama-era program that granted immigrants who came here as minors a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation.
This in turn granted said undocumented individuals the eligibility for work permit and the opportunity to pursue education. It is still unclear as to why POTUS didn’t himself issue the official announcement.
In Trump’s plan to phase out DACA, Congress has a six-month window to alter those plans and perhaps enact new protection for DREAMers. The policy to be implemented by the current administration is as follows, according to ABC News:
- The administration won’t consider new applications for legal status dated after Sept. 5.
- If you are not already protected by the program, you are out of luck, although applications filed before Tuesday that are pending will continue to be processed.
- Anyone who has a DACA permit expiring between now and March 5, 2018, can apply for a two-year renewal. That application must be submitted by Oct. 5.
- Some Dreamers, those with permits that expire between now and March 5, will be eligible for legal status for another two-plus years. For others, legal status ends as early as March 6.
Prior to the announcement, Trump tweeted he is ultimately leaving DREAMers in the hands of Congress.
Congress, get ready to do your job – DACA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017