In recent news, there has been a major change in immigration policy: A judge restored Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, for new applicants. Now, the program will accept new applicants for the first time since 2017.
The initiative was eliminated during the Trump Administration, but the judge with the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn stated that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would need put out a public notice that it will be accepting new petitions from immigrants who aren’t enrolled in the program yet but who do qualify.
The judge also reportedly instructed the department to grant any approved applicants the right to work in the United Stated with a permit for two years.
How many people will benefit from this change in immigration policy?
According to the lawyers who sued to have DACA restored, there are potentially a million undocumented immigrants in the United States who could benefit from DACA. This includes around 300,000 young adults and teens who qualify on paper and who will now be able to apply for the program.
The news report states that the Department of Homeland Security disagreed with the ruling and may appeal. Until that time, the department will be abiding by the law. In stark contrast, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) did not comment on the change.
If you may qualify for DACA, now is the time to put in your application. It’s a good idea to do so as soon as you can since this change in the law could be appealed and overturned again in the future. You need to quickly act to be able to protect your rights in this country.