In September of 2017, the Republican party and the President chose to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. When the news came out about the end of DACA, 700,000 immigrants were left to wonder how the United States government would handle their situations. Some feared deportation, and others were turned away from their workplaces with no way to provide for their families. In fact, investigations reported that around 122 DACA workers lost their jobs every single day following the declaration that DACA was over. As talks about DACA turned into a government shutdown, DACA recipients were left to wonder how their situation would play out. However, the government has informed dreamers that they can now reapply for DACA.

January 9 Brings Some Relief

A federal judge from the Ninth Circuit issued an injunction against the President's decision to end DACA. While not a permanent fix, this move reinstated the DACA program and provided help to hundreds of thousands of immigrants. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services resumed accepting DACA requests to renew a grant of deferred action. DACA will essentially continue to run in the same way that it has been running since before the rescission. DACA will continue to stay closed to individuals who were never granted deferred status in the past. Only DACA recipients whose DACA expired after September 5, 2016 are eligible to have their DACA renewed. If you are a dreamer who needs to renew your DACA, you must submit specific forms to regain your DACA status.

These forms include the following:

• Form I-821D
• Form I-765
• Form I-765 Worksheet

These must be submitted with the appropriate fee, or with an approved fee exemption status.

If you or a loved one needs assistance in filling these forms correctly, an immigration lawyer can help. Filing these forms correctly the first time can be the difference between recipient renewal and getting taken off the list entirely. The government is still debating what to do long-term with DACA recipients, so being a part of the DACA program makes your case stronger if anything were to change like it did in September of 2017.