DACA renewal deadline nears, legislative deal in the works

Current recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are reminded that they have until Oct. 5 to renew their DACA and employment authorization documents before the program is phased out. Meanwhile, President Trump met with Democratic leaders to discuss a legislative deal that could save the program.

Key points:

• Following a Sept. 5 announcement that the Trump administration will “wind down” the program within six months, DACA recipients whose benefits will expire between Sept. 5 and March 5, 2018 are allowed to apply for a renewal that is valid for two years, but must apply by Oct. 5.
• On the legislative front, Trump met with Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi to discuss a deal that would put DACA into law. The president initially denied that a deal had been reached, but on Thursday morning appeared to confirm that a legislative solution was in play. In response to a question from the media while visiting Florida after Hurricane Irma, Trump said they were “fairly close” to a deal on DACA. Earlier, via Twitter, he asked: “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs some serving in the military? Really!”

BAL Analysis: Current DACA recipients whose benefits expire by March 5 should take steps to renew their DACA grants and employment authorization documents as soon as possible. Employers should be aware of the issues related to DACA employees and key considerations related to termination of the program. For analysis, read BAL’s FAQ “The End of DACA: What Every U.S. Employer Should Know.”

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact BerryApplemanLeiden@bal.com.

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