The futures of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who came to the United States by illegal conditions are still up in the air due to the Senate's inability to pass a proposal. Although three proposals concerning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) members were up for a vote in the Senate, none of them passed, leaving DACA recipients in the dark about their next steps.

What Were the Different Proposals?

All three of the proposals would have created a path for DACA members to become permanent citizens; however, each proposal had various sub-proposals that went along with the main proposal.

The first proposal, introduced by John McCain and Chris Coons, had these stipulations:

• Create a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who came to America as children
• Included no funding for Trump's border wall, but added some measures to improve border security

This proposal failed with 52 votes for and 47 votes against.

The second proposal, introduced by Charles Grassley and backed by the White House, had these stipulations:

• Create a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who came to America as children
• Included $25 billion for a southern border wall between the United States and Mexico
• Severely limited legal immigration by restricting family immigration and eliminating the diversity visa lottery program

This proposal met the most opposition with 39 votes for and 60 votes against.

The third proposal, introduced by the Common Sense Caucus (a bipartisan group led by Susan Collins), had these stipulations:

• Create a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who came to America as children
• Included $25 billion in funding for border security
• Prevented DACA recipients from sponsoring their parents for legal status

Although this proposal had the most support, it still failed when 54 voted for and 45 voted against the compromise. Therefore, all three proposals failed, and DACA recipients will continue to stay in limbo until the Senate can figure out a solution.

What Will Happen in the Meantime?

The DACA program is no longer taking applicants but has recently allowed recipients to apply for renewal if they held DACA status before the ban. However, as beneficiaries of DACA and members of Senate know, this renewal is far from a permanent solution. If you are worried about your immigration status under DACA, make sure to contact a practiced immigration lawyer whom you can use if something changes. Making contact and having a conversation with a trusted immigration lawyer can be the first step to a beneficial relationship for the future if things should change.