Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): An Overview

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion, providing temporary relief from deportation (deferred action) and work authorization to certain young undocumented immigrants. DACA was created on June 15, 2012, by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano through an agency memorandum. On October 31, 2022, President Joseph Biden’s administration implemented regulations that rescinded and replaced that memo. The new rule maintained the existing eligibility guidelines and largely preserved the policies in place from DACA’s inception. Unlike federal legislation, DACA does not provide permanent legal status to individuals, and must be renewed every two years. This fact sheet provides an overview of DACA, prior attempts to dismantle the initiative, and its status.  

Eligibility for DACA 

To be eligible for DACA, applicants meet the following requirements: 

The Socioeconomic Impact of DACA 

DACA has enabled roughly 834,877 eligible young adults to work lawfully, attend school, and plan their lives without the constant threat of deportation—usually to an unfamiliar country. According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), more than 1.1 million U.S. residents were eligible for DACA as originally implemented. The Center for American Progress (CAP) estimates that the average DACA recipient arrived in the United States in 1999 at the age of 7, and that more than one-third of DACA recipients arrived before the age of 5. With work authorization granted, and the imminent threat of deportation removed, DACA recipients have experienced pronounced upward mobility in their socioeconomic status. A national survey of DACA recipients conducted from October 1, 2023 to January 3, 2024 found that 59.1 percent of respondents moved on to a job with better pay, 47.3 percent moved to a job with better working conditions, and 57.3 percent moved to a job with health insurance or other benefits. Moreover, 47.5 percent of respondents moved to a job that “better fits [their] education and training” and 49.6 percent moved to a job that “better fits [their] long-term career goals.” In addition, 19.6 percent obtained professional licenses. 

According to the results of the 2023 survey and eight previous annual surveys, the average hourly wage of respondents increased by 164.4 percent after receiving DACA, rising from $11.92 per hour to $31.52 per hour. This not only helped 81.9 percent of respondents to “become financially independent,” but also benefited the U.S. economy by increasing their purchasing power and tax payments at the federal, state, and local levels. For instance, 67.1 percent of respondents said that they bought their first car after receiving DACA, which boosted auto sales and generated sales tax revenue together with registration and title fees. Similarly, 30.7 percent of respondents said they bought their first home after receiving DACA, which had comparable ripple effects throughout the economy.  

The 2023 survey also revealed that 22.9 percent of respondents were in school, and that most of these (73.5 percent) were working toward a bachelor’s degree or higher. Among those in school, 65 percent said that because of DACA, “[they] pursued educational opportunities that [they] previously could not.” Nonetheless, 49.5 percent of respondents reported already having a bachelor’s degree or higher. 

Another nationwide study found that DACA recipients also benefit from much greater psychological well-being. Specifically, DACA “led to an overall decrease in stress, helping them to perform better in their jobs and in their studies.” DACA recipients reported renewed hope for the future, a greater sense of belonging to U.S. society, and less fear of the police and other government authorities. 

DACA recipients have deep social and economic roots in the United States. According to CAP’s latest estimates using data from the American Community Survey: 

Characteristics of DACA Recipients 

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), there were 528,300 active DACA recipients as of March 31, 2024—a decline of more than 108,000 since December 31, 2020. Another 52,489 DACA recipients had renewals pending and were therefore not classified as “active.” The USCIS data provides the following demographic information about active DACA recipients on that date: 

The Center for American Progress estimated in 2021 that roughly 343,000 DACA recipients are what the Department of Homeland Security terms “essential critical infrastructure workers” who work in healthcare, education, and food-related industries. More precisely, “an estimated 34,000 health care workers are DACA recipients,” including nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides; personal care aides; registered nurses; medical assistants; and dental assistants. Another 20,000 DACA recipients are educators. And 100,000 DACA recipients work in the food supply chain, from production to distribution. 

Recent DACA-Related Developments 

On September 5, 2017, then Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke rescinded the 2012 DACA memorandum and announced a “wind down” of DACA. DACA beneficiaries whose status was due to expire before March 5, 2018 were permitted to renew their status for an additional two years if they applied by October 5, 2017. Any person for whom DACA would have expired as of March 6, 2018, would no longer have deferred action or employment authorization. The attempted rescission was challenged by U.S. district courts in California, New York, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the legal challenges of the lower courts during its 2019-2020 term. On June 18, 2020, the Court ultimately ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Trump administration’s attempt to terminate the program was unlawful, reasoning that the administration failed to properly explain its decision or consider alternatives to a full rescission of the initiative in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). However, the Court also recognized that the federal government ultimately retains the legal authority to end the DACA initiative if it were to do so in compliance with the APA. 

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, as well as a federal court order issued on July 17, 2020, DACA was technically restored to its state prior to the September 2017 rescission. This brought hope to the many people who aged into the initiative—particularly those who had reached the minimum age requirement of 15 in the previous couple of years while the litigation was ongoing. USCIS subsequently began accepting some initial DACA requests and applications for advance parole but failed to approve or adjudicate any of these forms. Approximately six weeks after the Supreme Court’s decision, then-Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf issued a memorandum making major changes to the DACA initiative.  

Acting Secretary Wolf’s July memorandum rescinded former Acting Secretary Duke’s memorandum from 2017 and made several significant changes to the operation of DACA. As of July 28, 2020, current and prior DACA recipients were allowed to continue to apply to renew their protections with USCIS. The validity period for those protections was reduced to one year, however, requiring DACA recipients to apply annually to renew their protections rather than every two years. USCIS indicated plans to reject all pending and future initial DACA requests from people who were eligible for DACA but had not previously participated in the initiative.  

A November 2020 ruling by a federal judge in New York set aside limitations placed on the initiative by Acting Secretary Wolf’s July memorandum. The New York judge invalidated the memorandum on the basis that Wolf was improperly appointed to his position. On December 4, 2020, the same judge ordered that limitations placed on DACA by the July 28th memorandum be set aside, and that the administration fully reinstate DACA protections. The agency began accepting new DACA applications on December 7, 2020. 

On December 22, 2020, in a separate lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen heard arguments on cross motions for summary judgment in a case where the State of Texas (joined by several additional states) sought complete termination of DACA. While this case was pending, newly elected President Joseph Biden issued a memorandum in January 2021 reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to DACA. The memorandum stated that “the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall take all actions he deems appropriate, consistent with applicable law, to preserve and fortify DACA.” 

On July 16, 2021, Judge Hanen ruled that DACA was unlawful. He granted a permanent injunction vacating the original 2012 memorandum which created the DACA initiative on the basis that its implementation violated the APA. Judge Hanen enjoined, or “blocked”, DHS from approving any new, first-time DACA applications; but allowed the agency to continue to consider renewals for those already granted DACA. On September 10, 2021, the Biden administration appealed Judge Hanen’s decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

On September 28, 2021, USCIS published a proposed rule that would recreate DACA in federal regulation to “preserve and fortify” it. After receiving more than 16,000 comments, the final rule was announced on August 30, 2022, which became effective October 31, 2022. The rule maintained the same eligibility guidelines and rescinded and replaced the original 2012 memorandum.