Biden Administration Moves to Shore Up DACA Protections but Congress Needs to Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (The Council) welcomed newly published regulations that will offer more certainty for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and represent a positive step towards protecting some Dreamers. It has been more than 10 years since the creation of DACA which offered an opportunity for people brought to the U.S. as children who met certain criteria to apply for temporary protection from deportation.

AILA President Jeremy McKinney said, “A decade ago, we welcomed the announcement of DACA and the protections it offered Dreamers. Today, we are heartened by the efforts by the Biden Administration to preserve and protect the program itself which has been undermined by the Trump Administration and lawsuits from state governors who should know better. These regulations are essential, but laws are for lasting change. We need Congress to pass legislation permanently protecting all Dreamers—not just those who qualify for DACA under these regulations, but also the many others who have lived for years in legal limbo. That is the true solution here.”

American Immigration Council Managing Director of Programs and Strategy Jorge Loweree added, “Passing legislation permanently protecting our undocumented youth should not be a heavy lift for Congress. The DACA initiative is a proven winner and an unquestionably valuable program with quantifiable, significant, and long-lasting impacts on families, local communities, our economy, and our nation. The uncertainty that undocumented youth is forced to endure is completely unnecessary and Congress should act on the will of the American people in finally doing what is right—passing legislation to create a path to citizenship for dreamers across the U.S. The changes announced today are a step in the right direction, but we need to do much more.”

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