DACA deadline nears as work on legislation continues

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are reminded that Thursday, Oct. 5, is the deadline for renewing their DACA and Employment Authorization Documents. On Sept. 5, the Trump administration moved to end DACA,  with Trump calling on Congress to come up with a legislative fix in the next six months. Although work on long-term DACA legislation continues, nothing has been finalized.

Key points:

• DACA recipients whose benefits expired or will expire between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, and who are interested in applying for a two-year renewal should do so immediately. Applications must be received by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) no later than Thursday, Oct. 5.
• Work on DACA legislation continues. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leaders in Congress, said last month that they had reached an agreement with Trump on the outlines of a legislative fix, but the White House disputed some of the details and nothing has been finalized.
• The Senate Judiciary committee took up the matter Tuesday, with Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the Republican committee chair, saying legislation must include border security measures but not funding for a border wall that some Republicans want. “Now is the time to start considering a path towards consensus in earnest,” Grassley said. “First and foremost, any potential DACA agreement has to include robust border security—and by that I don’t mean a wall.”

BAL Analysis: Current DACA recipients whose benefits expire before March 5, 2018, should take immediate steps to renew their DACA grants and employment authorization if they have not already done so. 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.” BAL will continue following progress on the legislative front, and will update clients on developments. For an overview of pending legislative proposals, read BAL’s comparison here.

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

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