Immigration Activists File Suit Over Trump's DACA Changes

According to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement about the phasing out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, some recent DACA participants no longer are eligible for the program at all. The federal government provided current DACA enrollees with the opportunity to apply for a final two-year extension, as long as they did so no later than October 5, 2017. If an immigrant’s participation in DACA had lapsed, however, that immigrant was no longer eligible to file for the final two-year extension, contrary to past DACA policy. Previously, immigrants whose enrollment had expired had been free to re-enroll in the DACA program, so long as they did so within one year of the expiration date. Since renewing participation in DACA required the payment of a substantial fee, some immigrants had put off their reenrollments, assuming that they would still have a one-year period in which to renew their participation in the program. The federal government’s new policy, however, severely cut short the window for re-enrollment, and for those whose enrollment had lapsed, the new policy prevented them from taking advantage of the remaining two years of the DACA program. As a result of this policy change, the Legal Aid Justice Center, based in Falls Church, VA, has filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the approximately 50,000 immigrants whose enrollment in the program had lapsed within the last year. For these individuals, this policy change meant not only that they were ineligible to re-enroll in DACA, but they were immediately subject to deportation, without exception. Even if the lawsuit is successful, the reprieve for these individuals still is only temporary. At best, this class of immigrants would be given the chance to participate for the final two years of DACA. However, two more years of protected status would at least give these individuals a chance to legally earn money, develop skills, or establish relationships that might permit them to adjust their immigration status and remain in the U.S. The cancellation of the DACA program impacts thousands of immigrants, most of whom have spent their entire lives in the United States. Now these individuals are facing deportation instead of the future for which they had planned. Given the increase in immigration enforcement, even current DACA participants have reason to fear deportation. If ICE has detained a loved one, contacting an experienced California immigration attorney as quickly as possible can be essential to securing his or her release and fighting deportation. Taking steps to fix an immigration problem from the outset is often much simpler than waiting until the last minute and attempting to remedy the situation. Call Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., at (510) 756-4468 today, and learn what we can do to help you through this situation.