Trump is ending DACA. What happens now?
![President Trump.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bKsaF8aS4mP3PMZcjMTzMe-1024-80.jpg)
After days of uncertainty, President Trump made it official Tuesday that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is being rescinded. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in an announcement that the program, which former President Barack Obama introduced via executive action in 2012 to protect individuals brought to the U.S. as children, was "unconstitutional."
The Department of Homeland Security will no longer accept new applications for DACA's renewable, two-year work permits. New applications that were received by Tuesday will still be considered on a case-by-case basis. DHS will also now stop issuing "advanced parole notices," which allowed DACA recipients to leave and re-enter the U.S., though those that were already issued will be honored.
For those already enrolled in DACA, renewal applications for those whose two-year work permits expire between now and March 5, 2018 will still be accepted, as long as they're submitted by Oct. 5. Those whose permits expire after March 5, 2018, will be allowed to continue working until their two-year period is up.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump emphasized in a statement that with the end of DACA, the administration's "enforcement priorities remain unchanged." "We are focused on criminals, security threats, recent border-crossers, visa overstays, and repeat violators. I have advised the Department of Homeland Security that DACA recipients are not enforcement priorities unless they are criminals, are involved in criminal activity, or are members of a gang," Trump said in a statement. However, The New York Times' Vivian Yee noted that while DACA holders may not be directly targeted, they will "be treated like anyone else in the country illegally — putting them at risk of deportation under Trump."
Now that the announcement has been made, the Trump administration will offer "a partial delay to give Congress a chance to address the issue," The Washington Post reported. It's not clear what the Trump administration's plan is if Congress doesn't pass immigration legislation within six months.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - February 9, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - personal data, trans athletes, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 tit-for-tat cartoons about Trump's trade war
Cartoons Artists take on Canada, Mexico, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The catastrophic conflict looming in the heart of Africa
In the Spotlight Showdown between DR Congo and Rwanda have been a long time coming
By The Week UK Published
-
Federal judges block Trump citizenship order
Speed Read A second judge has blocked the president's order to end citizenship for children born on American soil to parents without legal status
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
DOGE official at Treasury resigns after racist posts
Speed Read Marko Elez's ability to access the Treasury's central government payment system has been rescinded
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Trump orders ban on trans female athletes
speed read The order directs the federal government to withhold funding from schools that do not comply
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Musk's DOGE gains access to Medicare, eyes FAA
speed read The billionaire said his Department of Government Efficiency will make 'rapid safety upgrades' to our air traffic control systems
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump: US 'will take over' Gaza, without Palestinians
Speed Read President Trump has suggested the US take ownership of Gaza, permanently displacing more than two million Palestinian residents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Democrats try to stop Trump's USAID closure
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk are attempting to dismantle the US Agency for International Development, a move congressional Democrats say is illegal
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China rattle markets
Speed read The tariffs on America's top three trading partners are expected to raise the prices of everything from gas and cars to tomatoes and tequila
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published