New Jersey residents who came to the United States as children with their immigrant parents have something to look forward to with the DACA. The Biden Administration has proposed changes to the program to help Dreamers.
What is DACA?
DACA is also known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was implemented by President Barack Obama to protect children of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. Those children, known as Dreamers, have long worked to remain in the country and become legal American citizens.
What are the proposed changes to DACA?
While the DACA program has been stagnant for some time, the Biden Administration proposed to make certain changes. Those changes aim to retain the eligibility guidelines from June 2012 with some tweaking. The new rules for DACA apply to Dreamers and require the following:
- Individuals must have arrived in the United States before their 16th birthday.
- They must have consistently lived in the United States since June 15, 2007.
- They must be currently enrolled in school or have already graduated.
- They must not have a felony conviction.
- They must not pose a threat to public safety or national security.
Although DACA has been the target of numerous lawsuits over the years over its implementation and whether it was legal, it still persists. One federal judge in Texas ruled the program unlawful due to the federal government failing to follow proper procedures. Although the judge blocked new DACA applications from being accepted, he let individuals still enrolled in the program to continue benefiting from it.
Congressional Democrats have put their full support into the program and look toward giving Dreamers a clearer path to citizenship. The new proposed rules should make things smoother for that to happen.
