![handle is hein.crs/goveeag0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ______
*.Research Service
The Legality of DACA: Recent Litigation
Developments
July 20, 2021
Since 2012, certain unlawfully present non-U.S. nationals (aliens, as the term is used in the Immigration
and Nationality Act [INA]) who entered the United States as children have been permitted to remain and
work in this country for renewable two-year periods under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) initiative. During the Trump Administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
sought to rescind DACA on the basis that it was unlawful. Several federal district courts enjoined DHS
from terminating DACA and required the agency to continue accepting DACA applications and work
authorization requests from current DACA recipients. In 2020, the Supreme Court held that DHS's
rescission of DACA violated procedural requirements in federal law, thereby leaving DACA largely
intact, without deciding on the legality of DACA itself.
In a separate and ongoing case, the State of Texas (joined by eight other states) challenges the legality of
DACA. The plaintiffs rely on a 2015 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Texas ])
ruling that a related initiative, which would have expanded DACA and granted relief to unlawfully
present parents of U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) children, was unlawful. In the new
case-commonly called Texas II a federal district court ruled on July 16, 2021, that DACA is similarly
unlawful. This Legal Sidebar examines the status of and key issues in the Texas II litigation. For further
background about DACA, see CRS Report R46764, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): By
the Numbers, by Andorra Bruno.
What Is the Current Status of DACA?
The July 16 ruling in Texas II invalidates (or, in legal terminology, vacates) the DACA program.
However, noting that DACA recipients have relied on the DACA initiative and its associated benefits for
nearly a decade, the district court temporarily stayed the ruling as it applies to current DACA recipients
pending an order from the district court, the Fifth Circuit, or the Supreme Court, on further review.
As a result, current DACA recipients may retain their status and lawfully remain and work in the United
States for the time being. They may also apply to renew their status every two years. It also appears that
current DACA recipients may still be permitted to travel abroad and return to the United States pursuant
to advance parole. On the other hand, the federal district court's order currently bars DHS from
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10625
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveeag0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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