DACA Relief Still Available… For Now.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take action on DACA during this session. As a result, DACA protections will most likely remain in place through the end of this year. In 2017, the Trump Administration announced that DACA would come to an end in early 2018. A legal battle ensued, and eventually a lower federal court prevented the termination of the program. In November 2018, the administration filed a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to expedite a ruling on the lower court decisions that keep the DACA program in place.  The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the Trump Administration’s request, means that it is increasingly likely that the earliest the Supreme Court would hear the case – if at all – is in its new term that starts October 2019. Consequently, DACA protections will likely remain in place under current court rulings through at least the end of 2019. This means that there are no new changes to the DACA program. USCIS will not consider first-time, new DACA applications filed by individuals who have not previously had DACA. It will, however, continue to accept and process renewal DACA applications, as well as new DACA applications filed by individuals who have previously had DACA.

For more information on this or other immigration matters, please contact our office at (312) 444-1940 or consult@lawfirm1.com to schedule a consultation.