The immigration policy DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) gained survival in June of this year, after the American Supreme Court’s decision to prevent the Trump Administration from ending the program immediately.
With the decision, it is possible that DACA immigrants, who have travel permits, may again leave the United States and return. However, details of this possibility are not yet clear, and the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may limit the ability to travel.
But after all, what is DACA?
To protect, from deportation, young illegal immigrants brought to the United States with their parents, and without legal authorization, President Barack Obama created the DACA Immigration Policy on June 15, 2012.
This policy allows the presence of young people, at least 15 years old, for a renewable period of two years, with permission to work in the country, without, however, opening the way for American citizenship.
However, to be eligible for the program, applicants must have no history of serious crimes.
In November 2014, President Obama announced his intention to expand DACA to cover more undocumented immigrants, but several states immediately tried to prevent the expansion, which was blocked by the Supreme Court.
Under the Trump Administration, the Department of Homeland Security terminated the expansion in June 2017, while continuing to review the existence of the DACA as a whole.
In September 2017, the Trump administration announced a plan to eliminate DACA, but postponed the implementation of this plan for six months, to allow Congress time to pass the DREAM Act or some other legislative protection for undocumented migrants.
In August 2018, UCSIS (U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) estimated that 699,350 active DACA recipients were residing in the country.
Now, the resumption of the program favors more than 66,000 young people, who qualify for the program but have been waiting for its resumption since 2017, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
