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1 1 (September 16, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/tydkiyf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ______ aResearch Service Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Litigation Status Update September 16, 2025 The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, established in 2012 by the Obama Administration, allows individuals without legal immigration status who meet certain requirements to be deemed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not to be a priority for removal from the United States and to be deemed eligible to remain and work for renewable two-year periods. Efforts by the Obama Administration to expand the program to a broader population, by the first Trump Administration to rescind the initiative, and by the Biden Administration to fortify DACA were all subject to legal challenge. The crux of the dispute regarding the legality of the DACA initiative is the scope of the executive branch's statutory and constitutional discretion to engage in a practice of non- enforcement of federal immigration laws with respect to some categories of individuals. In particular, the litigation centers on whether the initiative is consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the comprehensive statutory framework governing immigration policy; the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which sets forth procedural requirements for rulemaking by most federal agencies; and the Take Care Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which designates the President with responsibility to make sure federal laws are faithfully executed. Additionally, without addressing the underlying legality of DACA, the Supreme Court has recognized that a rescission of the program must comport with APA requirements. The former Biden Administration's attempt to fortify DACA has been litigated since 2021, with the introduction of a federal rule referred to in this Sidebar as the DACA Final Rule. Most recently, in January 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit) held that DACA and the DACA Final Rule are unlawful, but that the policy could continue so long as it was severed from the process of granting work authorization. Additionally, the Fifth Circuit limited the previously-granted nationwide injunction blocking implementation of the DACA program to Texas and continued a temporary stay of that injunction as it applies to current DACA recipients nationwide. This means that current DACA recipients, including those in Texas, can continue to have DACA for now and would-be DACA applicants in Texas would no longer qualify for work authorization. The case was remanded for further proceedings as the district court may find appropriate. A modified order from the district court reflecting this update has not yet been issued. There is still some uncertainty as to what the narrowing of the injunction means for prospective DACA applicants. According to DHS's most recent guidance from January 2025, current DACA recipients can still apply for and renew their DACA status nationwide. This Legal Sidebar provides an overview of DACA, a summary of litigation regarding the policy's validity to Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11369 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress