DACA/DAPA

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

The Dream Act: An Overview

The Dream Act would permanently protect certain immigrants who came to the United States as children but are vulnerable to deportation. 

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Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: A Q&A Guide

Here's what you need to know about the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) initiative, including eligibility requirements and important information on process and timing.

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All DACA/DAPA Content

  • Special Report

How DACA is Impacting the Lives of Those Who are Now DACAmented

Publication Date: 
August 15, 2013

As Congress continues to debate immigration reform, August 15th marks the one-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)...

  • Fact Sheet

Who and Where the DREAMers Are, Revised Estimates

Publication Date: 
October 16, 2012
There are roughly 1.8 million immigrants in the United States who might be, or might become, eligible for the Obama Administration’s “deferred action” initiative for unauthorized youth brought to...
  • Fact Sheet

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: A Q&A Guide

Publication Date: 
August 17, 2012
Here's what you need to know about the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) initiative, including eligibility requirements and important information on process and timing.
  • Fact Sheet

Economic Benefits of Granting Deferred Action to Unauthorized Immigrants Brought to U.S. as Youth

Publication Date: 
June 22, 2012
There are an estimated 1.4 million children and young adults in the United States who might benefit from President Obama’s...
  • Special Report

Investing in the American DREAM

Publication Date: 
December 2, 2010
Each year, tens of thousands of undocumented immigrant students graduate from American high schools and embark on uncertain futures. Their inability to legally work and receive financial aid stalls...
  • Advocacy

Council, AILA & Other Stakeholders’ Response to DHS’s notice of revisions to Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and accompanying instructions (submitted Feb. 18, 2014)

The American Immigration Council along with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Educators For Fair Consideration, the National Immigration Law Center, United We Dream, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. offered comments in response to DHS’s proposed new DACA application form and instructions.
  • Advocacy

Letter Requesting Modifications to USCIS DACA FAQ (submitted June 3, 2013)

The American Immigration Council along with American Immigration Lawyers Association, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, National Council of La Raza, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and United We Dream, submitted proposals to USCIS seeking certain modifications to the DACA Frequently Asked Questions page.
  • Advocacy

Second Letter Requesting Modifications to USCIS DACA FAQ (submitted April 8, 2014)

The American Immigration Council along with American Immigration Lawyers Association, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, New York Immigration Coalition, and United We Dream, submitted proposals to USCIS seeking certain modifications to the DACA Frequently Asked Questions page.
  • Advocacy

Response to DHS’s notice of revisions to Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and accompanying instructions (submitted Feb. 12, 2013)

The American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., and the National Immigration Law Center welcomed changes made by USCIS, but encouraged several additional changes to Form I-821D and the accompanying instructions to make it more understandable and accessible to DACA requesters, particularly those requesters who are unrepresented.
  • Advocacy

Response to DHS’s notice of revisions to Form I‐131, Application for Travel Document and accompanying instructions (submitted Dec. 31, 2012)

The American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. jointly submitted comments addressing numerous aspects of the Form I-131 instructions including revisions to the instructions that provide guidance to DACA recipients on their eligibility for Advance Parole.
  • Advocacy

Letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (submitted Feb. 9, 2012)

This sign-on letter expresses concerns about DHS’s implementation of the new prosecutorial discretion policy, including the agency’s failure to grant work authorization to those who receive a favorable exercise of discretion. The letter also makes recommendations to ensure that DHS fulfills its pledge to implement an effective and fair prosecutorial discretion policy nationwide.
  • Advocacy

NIJC Recommendations Regarding Implementation of the Prosecutorial Discretion Initiative (submitted Sep. 30, 2011)

This letter to several Administration officials was submitted in response to the DHS/White House announcement on August 18, 2011 that it would form a "Prosecutorial Discretion Working Group" to...

  • Amicus Briefs

United States v. State of Texas, No. 15-674 (S.Ct., amicus brief filed November 30, 2015)

The American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the National Immigration Law Center, the Service Employees International Union, American Federal of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Advancement Project, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, among others, filed an amicus brief on behalf of a coalition of 224 immigration, civil rights, labor and social service groups, urging the Supreme Court to review the case that has blocked expanded DACA and DAPA.
  • Blog

DACA Is Facing a Crisis That the Senate Can No Longer Ignore

October 7, 2022

Written by Jorge Loweree and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council More than a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first created the Deferred Action for Childhood...

  • Blog

Immigration Status Will No Longer Be a Barrier for Aspiring Lawyers in New Mexico

September 9, 2022

Written by American Immigration Council staff Leani García Torres and Raul Pinto The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative provides certain young, undocumented immigrants with a...

  • Blog

Biden Moves to Stabilize the Lives of Hundreds of Thousands of DACA Recipients, but Critical Work Remains

August 30, 2022

Last week, the Biden administration published the final version of a regulation that seeks to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and provide a modicum of...

  • Blog

What You Need to Know About the New Proposed DACA Regulation

September 27, 2021

The Biden administration followed through on its Day One promise to create a new regulation to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (DACA) on September 27....

  • Blog

Federal Judge Strikes Down DACA: What You Need to Know

July 19, 2021

Nearly a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to provide protections to undocumented immigrants brought here as...

  • Blog

DACA Has Allowed Me to Pursue Education, But We Need A Permanent Solution Now

June 15, 2021

My name is Hali Calzadillas-Andujo and I’m originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. I first came to the United States with my mother and siblings when I was eight years old. I didn’t even know what it...

  • Blog

The House Passes Historic Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

March 18, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills on March 18, signaling that Congress might finally enact major immigration reform for the first time in over three decades. These...

  • Blog

Biden Took Eight Administrative Actions on Immigration. Here’s What You Need to Know.

January 22, 2021

On his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement...

  • Blog

Why Immigrants With Strong Ties to the US Should Be Allowed to Stay

January 7, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The Biden administration will soon...

  • Blog

A Judge Fully Reinstated DACA, but Dreamers Are Still in Danger

December 7, 2020

A federal judge in New York has overturned the Trump administration’s latest effort to limit the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. DACA temporarily protects certain people...

  • Press Release

U.S. Supreme Court on DACA: Blocks Trump’s Cruel Attempt to Upend the Lives of 650,000 Community Members Across America

June 18, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court today blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a critical initiative that has offered deportation protection and work authorization to hundreds of thousands of young people who arrived in the United States as children.
  • Press Release

ICE Data Reveals the Impact of Immigration Enforcement Under the Trump Administration

July 1, 2019
A report on interior immigration enforcement by the American Immigration Council examines newly disclosed government data on the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement agenda. The report, “Changing Patterns of Interior Immigration Enforcement in the United States, 2016–2018,” reveals that U.S. citizens and immigrant women have become increasingly vulnerable to immigration enforcement actions under the administration.
  • Press Release

American Immigration Council's Statement on President Trump's Immigration Principles

October 8, 2017
The White House released its long anticipated, "Immigration Principles and Policies," which lay out many of the already-stated aspirations of the Trump administration on immigration. The laundry list represents a wholesale attack on immigration and immigrants. It includes not only limits on immigration generally, but enables mass deportations and envisions bypassing necessary procedures that protect children and asylum seekers.
  • Press Release

Supreme Court Issues Disappointing Split Decision in United States v. Texas

June 23, 2016

Washington D.C. - Today, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision in United States v.

  • Press Release

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in U.S. v. Texas

April 18, 2016

Washington D.C. - Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas.

  • Press Release

326 Immigrant Rights Groups Urge Supreme Court to Let Immigration Relief Programs Go Forward

March 8, 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C.

  • Press Release

Coalition Urges Supreme Court to Protect President’s Executive Actions on Immigration

December 1, 2015

Washington, D.C.

  • Press Release

Divided Fifth Circuit Denies Emergency Stay as Underlying Case on Immigration Action Proceeds

May 26, 2015

Washington D.C. - In a disappointing decision, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today  denied  the federal government’s request for an emergency stay of a preliminary in

  • Press Release

Unprecedented Coalition Ask Court to Reverse Texas Ruling Blocking Immigration Initiatives

April 19, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Texas Decision at Odds with Legal Precedent, History and Facts on Immigration Enforcement

February 17, 2015

Washington D.C. - Late last night, a Texas judge issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the implementation of President Obama’s new deferred action initiatives. These initia

  • Press Release

Congress Must Pass a Permanent Solution and Expand Protections for Dreamers as Ruling Attempts to End the DACA Program

September 14, 2023
The American Immigration Council responds to Judge Andrew Hanen's decision to rule that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unlawful.
  • Press Release

Report Highlights Undocumented Students’ Vital Role in Addressing Workforce Gaps

August 2, 2023
The American Immigration Council and the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration released a report showing undocumented students enrolling in U.S. colleges and universities play a crucial role in addressing workforce gaps.
  • Fact Sheet

Undocumented College Students

Publication Date: 
August 2, 2023
This fact sheet looks at the population of undocumented students in higher education institutions across the country.
  • Blog

An Undocumented Woman’s Complicated American Pride on the Fourth of July

June 29, 2023

Written by Andrea Ramos, Digital Communications Specialist at the American Immigration Council My first Fourth of July was in the Texas country. Fireworks, lawn games, little American flags,...

  • Blog

Florida Has Everything to Lose If It Repeals In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

March 10, 2023

Undocumented students, like millions of other students in the United States, have the ambition to succeed. College opportunities are often priceless for these students. And though a degree can...

  • Press Release

AILA and the American Immigration Council Respond to a Bipartisan Framework of Immigration Reform Compromises

December 5, 2022
In response to news of a new bi-partisan framework of immigration reform compromises from Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) —the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council issued the following statement.
  • Blog

Arizona Dreamers’ Chance of In-State Tuition Rely on the Midterm Elections

November 1, 2022

While it seems like all eyes are on the states that could determine the outcome of this year’s midterm elections, it’s important to remember that the consequences of November 8 will extend beyond...

  • Blog

Once Again, Undocumented Youth Find Themselves in Legal Limbo After Court Decisions

October 20, 2022

After months of waiting for decisions on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth are back to where they started—waiting...

  • Blog

DACA Is Facing a Crisis That the Senate Can No Longer Ignore

October 7, 2022

Written by Jorge Loweree and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council More than a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first created the Deferred Action for Childhood...

  • Press Release

Congress Must Ensure a Permanent Solution and Expand Protections for Dreamers as Litigation Over DACA Continues

October 5, 2022
While DACA will continue to temporarily remain in effect for renewals, the program is on tenuous ground as its legality is again tested before a Texas trial court hostile to immigrants.

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