A DACA Timeline

This timeline documents the debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA, and how politics continues to affect DACA recipients in New York City and around the U.S.

Mar. 5

Congress today did not come up with a legislative fix to DACA, leaving some 800,000 DACA recipients in prolonged uncertainty, according to ABC. Mar. 5 was the deadline Trump set last year in September for Congress to pass an immigration bill that will decide the fate of DREAMers.

Feb. 26

The Supreme Court ruled that it will not hear the Trump administration’s challenge on DACA, keeping the program alive and allowing DACA recipients to renew their status after the Mar. 5 deadline originally announced last year, according to The Hill.

Feb. 16

Two DACA bills, one bipartisan and the other supported by Trump, failed to pass the Senate, according to USA Today. Trump blamed the failure on Democrats in a tweet, saying he “cannot believe how BADLY DACA recipients have been treated by the Democrats.”

Feb. 13

A Federal Judge in Brooklyn issued an injunction to block the Trump Administration’s termination of DACA, according to The New York Times, echoing a California judge’s decision just one month ago.

Feb. 7

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi delivered a record-breaking eight-hour speech sharing stories of DREAMers, in an effort to oppose a government spending bill that does not include a permanent solution for undocumented youth, according to the LA Times.

Tomorrow, Feb. 8, another spending bill deadline, will once again be a critical time to see if the Senate can agree on a fix to DACA.

Jan. 30

Trump brought up the word “DREAMers” during his first State of the Union address, but used it to refer to Americans instead, emphasizing his willingness to enforce stricter immigration policies, according to Vox.

“My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans — to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers too.”

Jan. 26

Senator Schumer rejected Trump’s proposal, saying that he “uses them(DREAMers) as a tool to tear apart our legal immigration system and adopt the wish list that anti-immigration hard-liners have advocated for for years,” according to Politico.

Jan. 25

The White House released a proposal telling Congress what the president wants to see in a future immigration bill. Though it backs a path for citizenship for 1.8 million DREAMers, it also asks for a $25 billion border wall, according to NPR.

Jan. 22

The Senate passed a bill to fund the government through Feb. 8, ending the three-day shutdown, according to The New York Times. However, an immediate vote on protection for DREAMers was not yet included.

Jan. 19

Unable to reach an agreement over immigration, the Senate was not able to pass a bill to keep government running through Feb. 16, according to Reuters. The government will shut down at midnight.

Jan. 16

On Tuesday, the Trump Administration appealed a federal judge’s decision on resuming DACA renewals. “Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that it defied ‘law and common sense’ for a single federal judge to decide the DACA issue,” according to AP.

Jan. 14

Trump wrote on Twitter that “DACA is probably dead.” This remark came after Trump was accused of calling Haiti and African nations “shithole countries,” causing uproar among lawmakers and dimming the hope of reaching a deal to protect DACA youth.

Jan. 13

USCIS announced on its website that it has now resumed accepting DACA renewal applications, due to a court order from Federal Judge Alsup on Jan. 9.

Jan. 12

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife donated $33 million to fund 1,000 college scholarships for undocumented youth, who are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Jan. 11

More than 200 college and university presidents sent a letter to Congress to stress the urgency of a permanent legislative solution to protect DREAMers before Jan. 19.

Jan. 10

Chief executives of more than 100 companies, including IBM, General Motors and Facebook, sent a letter to Congress urging them to pass legislation by the end of next week to protect DREAMers. Allowing DACA to expire would result in a $215 billion hit to the economy, executives said.

Jan. 9

Trump brought together lawmakers to discuss immigration at a televised meeting, and lawmakers agreed to a possible deal in four areas: status of DACA recipients, border security, family-based migration and the visa lottery. Trump restated that there will be no DACA fix without a border wall.

In the evening, a federal judge from California temporarily blocked Trump’s move to end DACA, according to Reuters. DACA recipients who failed to renew their status by last year’s deadline now have a chance to submit applications. However, no first-time applications will be accepted.

Jan. 3

Three ex-homeland security secretaries warned in a letter that Congress should expedite finding a legislative fix to DACA, arguing that because of administrative requirements of implementation, the deadline to pass a deal is Jan. 19, not March.

Dec. 29

President Trump released immigration demands with a tweet signaling that there will be no DACA fix without funding for a border wall.

Dec. 21

Once again, the Senate approved a short-term spending measure to keep the government open through Jan. 19, according to the AP.

Dec. 7

The Senate approved a short-term spending bill to keep the government running until Dec. 22.

Dec. 5–6

Thousands of protesters headed to Washington D.C. to demand that a clean DREAM Act be included in the government’s year-end spending bill. Two members of Congress, along with 200 protesters, were arrested, according to NBC News.

Nov. 15

USCIS reversed its position on delayed DACA renewal requests, saying they would allow applicants to resubmit their paperwork “if they have proof that they mailed their renewal on time,” according to The New York Times.

Nov. 14

House Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview that no DACA fix would be included in the year-end spending bill.

Nov. 10

A New York Times article revealed that nearly 100 applications to renew DACA status were rejected because they had been delayed in the mail. The “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency said nothing more could be done; the decisions were final,” according to the article.

Oct. 9

House Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, threatened to shut down the government at the end of the year by withholding votes on the budget if legislation to protect DACA recipients is not on the table, according to the Washington Post.

Oct. 8

The White House released a list of priorities for any deal to protect DACA youth, including the funding of a border wall, increased immigration enforcement measures and less funding for “sanctuary cities,” according to The New York Times.

Oct. 5

Today marked the deadline for DACA renewal applications. DACA recipients who failed to submit status renewal application before Oct. 5 will not have chance to re-apply. Since Sept. 5, approximately 80 organizations in New York City held clinics to help DACA recipients renew their status, according to New York Immigration Coalition.

Also, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a measure making the state America’s first “sanctuary state,” extending local protection for undocumented immigrants living in the state, according to The Los Angeles Times. California is the state with the most DACA recipients, according to USCIS.

Sept. 5

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the end of DACA, an Obama-era program that shielded 800,000 undocumented youths who were brought to the United States as minors from deportation. On the same day, hundreds protested and rallied in New York City.