On July 16, 2021, a district court in Texas ruled against DACA and found it to be unlawful. It’s important to highlight that the decision only affects first-time filers. Existing DACA holders may continue to renew their DACAs and pending renewal application will continue to be processed. Both the White House and the DOJ have expressed intent to appeal the decision.
Current state of DACA as of July 16, 2021:
- If you have DACA now, it is still valid.
- If you have a DACA renewal application pending, you can keep renewing until further notice.
- If you have a pending initial DACA application, there is an indefinite freeze on that application.
- If you are eligible for DACA but haven’t applied yet, USCIS can accept your application but can’t process it. See Batalla Vidal v. Wolf, 501 F. Supp. 3d 117 (E.D.N.Y. 2020).
- If you have advance parole through DACA, it is still valid.
- If you have DACA and a pending advance parole application, USCIS will still process it.
The DOJ/DOL also issued a helpful reminder about existing DACA and employment discrimination: