Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court, left shorthanded with only eight Justices following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, issued a one-sentence decision stating that the Court was split 4-4 in the case of United States v. Texas, challenging the injunction that has prevented the implementation of the expanded DACA and DAPA programs announced by President Obama in November 2014.

This decision leaves the injunction in place, effectively ending any hope that these programs will be implemented at least until after the November elections and, more likely, until after a new president and Congress are sworn into office in January 2017.

The original DACA program launched in 2012 remains in effect.  To be eligible for the 2012 DACA program, a person must:

1. Have been under age 31 as of June 15, 2012;
2. Have come to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday;
3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007;
4. Have been physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of applying for DACA;
5. Have had no lawful status on June 15, 2012;
6. Be currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
7. Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor,or three or more other misdemeanors, and not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

If you or someone you know might be eligible for protection under DACA, please contact us.

UPDATE: This morning, a Federal district court in Texas issued a temporary injunction preventing USCIS from implementing the expanded DACA program and the upcoming DAPA program. The Obama administration will appeal that decision and we expect the injunction to be lifted, but meanwhile USCIS will not accept applications under the expanded DACA program this week as originally planned. We will monitor these ongoing developments and post more information as it becomes available.

Please note that today's district court decision does not affect renewal applications for the initial DACA program launched in 2012, or any of the other potential executive actions the President announced on November 20, 2014.

Our original post concerning eligibility for the expanded DACA program is below.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As Congress continues to delay movement on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), President Obama continues to expand the use of executive action to create administrative programs to fix various areas of the U.S. immigration system.

USCIS is set to expand one such program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Originally launched in 2012, DACA provided temporary, discretionary relief from deportation for people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

This week, USCIS will begin accepting applications for an expanded DACA program intended to provide relief for those who were not eligible under the initial program. To be eligible for DACA protection, a person must demonstrate that they:

• Came to the U.S. while under the age of 16
  
• Have lived in the U.S. since June 15, 2007 (for the initial DACA program) or January 1, 2010 (for the expanded DACA program), and were physically present in the U.S. on that date
  
• Have not had lawful immigration status since June 15, 2012
  
• Are currently in school, graduated from a U.S. high school, obtained a GED certificate, or served in the U.S. military;
  
• Have not been convicted of certain crimes or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety, and
  
• Are at least 15 years of age

Deferred action does not provide any derivative benefits for relatives of those granted deferred action. Any applicant must independently meet the eligibility criteria.

Deferred action is available even if a person is currently in immigration court proceedings or is subject to a final order of removal from the U.S. People granted deferred action may obtain employment authorization (EAD) cards.

It is important to note that deferred action is discretionary relief and may be renewed or terminated by at any time. Receiving deferred action does not grant a person any legal status in the U.S., nor does it waive or eliminate the consequences of any previous or future immigration violations. It simply means that the government will not make any effort to deport the person from the U.S. during the deferral period.

If you or someone you know might be eligible for protection under DACA, please contact us.