Obama-era DACA policy turns 12

Updated: Jun 17, 2024 / 10:18 AM CDT

President Barack Obama, center, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, right, listens as Diana Calderon, a student who has benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, speaks at a reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, for Hispanic Heritage Month and the 25th anniversary of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy turned 12 on Saturday.

Known simply as DACA, the Obama-era order protects from deportation immigrants who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

It was enacted on June 15, 2012, and though it does not provide lawful status, White House officials say it has enabled hundreds of thousands to live without fear in the United States.

For many DACA recipients — “Dreamers” — the United States is the only nation and only home they’ve ever known.

On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wished to mark the 12th anniversary of DACA and recognize recipients.

“We celebrate the contributions of DACA recipients,” DHS posted on X.

Said Mayorkas: “Dreamers & their contributions have enriched our communities & strengthened our economy.”

In August of 2022, DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a “final rule” that proposed to preserve and fortify DACA. However, Texas and several Republican-led states sued last September, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found the “DACA Final Rule” unlawful, according to DHS.

The states have argued that the Obama White House overstepped its authority, even saying only Congress can grant immigration benefits.

The court issued a partial stay that allowed DHS to continue processing renewal requests and work authorizations for those who received DACA status on or before July 16, 2021, but the court ordered the agency not to process “new” DACA requests.

Still, Mayorkas warned that although DHS will continue to protect “Dreamers” to “the fullest extent possible,” DACA is no substitution for congressional inaction.

“Only Congress … can permanently protect Dreamers & provide them the path to citizenship they deserve,” Mayorkas said. “An enduring legislative solution is long overdue. Congress needs to act. Until they do, we will continue to advocate for, defend, & work with Dreamers to ensure they have the support & security they need to thrive. We will continue the work we started 12 years ago today.”

Legislation filed in Congress to protect “Dreamers,” particularly the DREAM Act, has failed to pass multiple times, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 was deadlocked on a proposed version of DACA for the parents of recipients.

Efforts to end it have also failed. In 2020, the Supreme Court allowed DACA to remain after ruling 5-4 that the Trump administration improperly ended it.

President Barack Obama speaks about immigration reform during a meeting with young immigrants, known as “Dreamer,” in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., February 4, 2015. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

On Saturday, former President Barack Obama, whose administration announced DACA 12 years ago to the day, also took to X to urge Congress to pass permanent legislation for “Dreamers.”

“… One that offers them a pathway to citizenship and makes our immigration system fairer, more efficient, and more just,” he said on X.

Obama noted that nowadays, most of the original “Dreamers” are adults.

“They’re serving their communities as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and having children of their own,” he said. “But because the program that offered that protection remains temporary, they’re also living in fear of being sent back to a country many of them can’t even remember.”