On Friday, December 4th, a Federal Judge for the h US District Court in Brooklynn issued an order which will require full reinstatement of the DACA program and will allow new applicants, who have never held DACA before, to apply.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program commonly referred to as “DACA” was created in June of 2012 by President Barack Obama. The program protects certain young undocumented immigrants from deportation and allows them to receive employment authorization to work lawfully in the United States. Since its inception, the DACA program has been barraged by legal challenges. Then, in 2017, shortly after taking office, President Trump cancelled the program. The Supreme Court then ruled that President Trump’s cancellation of the program was not procedurally proper, ordering the program should be reinstated. However, soon after the Supreme Court’s decision, the acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security issued a memorandum restricting the program’s protections to only those “Dreamers” who had previously enrolled in the program.
Friday’s decision from Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis orders full reinstatement of the program including allowing applicants who have never before held DACA to apply.

Though Friday’s order is a victory for Dreamers, the precarious posture of the DACA program shows that legislation to provide for the legalization of DACA applications is needed to ensure that these young people have a stable foundation on which to build their lives.
To be eligible for DACA, an applicant must prove that he or she has resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, came to the United States before his or her16th birthday, was physically present in the United Stats on June 15, 2012, is enrolled in school or has graduated from high school in the United States or obtained a GED, did not have any lawful status on June 15, 2012, was under age 31 on June 15, 2012, has not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanors, three or more non-significant misdemeanors, and does not pose a threat to national security or public safety.

If you are a young undocumented immigrant and are interested in applying for DACA for the first time or would like assistance renewing your DACA, please contact us at (303) 494-5209.