DACA/DAPA
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) offer certain immigrants protection from immediate deportation and other benefits. Learn more about these policies, how they affect America, and our work to strengthen them below.
President’s Executive Actions on Immigration Should Spur Congressional Action
Washington D.C. – From the perspective of immigration reformers, Tuesday’s election is unlikely to change the gridlock that has stymied immigration reform for more than 15 years. Since at least 1998, there has been bipartisan agreement that our current immigration system is broken and that Congress must act to fix… Read More
Plan That Allows DREAMers to Serve in Military Limited
Only a small number of undocumented immigrants could serve in the military after the Obama administration last week announced that young immigrants who qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) can apply through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program. The military has used MAVNI since… Read More
Conservative Lawmakers Double Down on Deporting DREAMers and Limiting Deferred Action
Before adjourning for their summer recess a month ago, the House passed a partisan supplemental spending bill that had no hope of making it through the Senate. First, it did not provide anywhere near what the White House was requesting in order to deal with the crisis of… Read More
Deferred Action for Undocumented Immigrants Could Add Billions in Taxes to U.S. Economy
There’s no question that improving the United States’ outdated immigration system would help the economy. The Senate-passed immigration bill S. 744 would have, if enacted, reduced the federal budget deficit by approximately $1 trillion over 20 years and led to an increase in wages for U.S. workers. But House leaders… Read More
136 Leading Experts on Immigration Law Agree: President Has Legal Authority to Expand Relief
Washington D.C. — U.S. law professors sent a letter today to the White House stating that President Obama has wide legal authority to make needed changes to immigration enforcement policy. The president is considering how to use his authority to mitigate the damage caused by our dysfunctional immigration system… Read More
The President’s Discretion, Immigration Enforcement, and the Rule of Law
The President has the legal authority to make a significant number of unauthorized migrants eligible for temporary relief from deportation that would be similar to the relief available under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Read More
Seven Reasons Why Undocumented Immigrants are Rooted in America
With immigration legislation now moribund in Congress, all eyes have turned to the White House to see what sorts of non-legislative fixes to the immigration system might be implemented by the Obama administration. While the administration’s deliberations remain private, it is almost certain that one of the fixes being… Read More
House Fails to Address Problems While Stripping Deportation Relief for Immigrants
The House of Representatives approved two bills Friday night, one that allocated only a fraction of the funds needed to address the humanitarian situation surrounding unaccompanied children and another that strips deportation relief for more than half a million young immigrants. Both passed on largely partisan lines. Read More
President Provides Immediate Relief, Creates Architecture for Reform
Washington D.C. – After decades of congressional neglect, tonight President Obama took a crucial and courageous step toward reforming our immigration system. He announced that he will provide immediate relief for many of those impacted by of our broken system, and he… Read More
The Power of DACA Continues to Grow
June 15 marked the two-year anniversary of President Obama’s announcement of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. DACA temporarily defers the deportation of eligible undocumented youth and young adults, and grants them access to renewable two-year work permits and Social Security Numbers. As of March 2014,… Read More