On October 5, 2017, Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times reported that more than 75-percent of those eligible to renew their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) benefits by the deadline on the same day had done so [link].1
On September 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated DACA and announced how the program would be wound down [see article]. As part of the wind down, the DHS permitted certain beneficiaries with expiring DACA benefits to apply for renewal by October 5, 2017.
Dinan reported that there were approximately 154,000 DACA beneficiaries eligible for the October 5 renewal. Of these, 58,000 had already submitted their applications by September 5, 2017. As of the writing of the article, about 60,000 of the remaining eligible DACA beneficiaries had applied for renewal between September 5 and October 5. The article was published a few hours in advance of the deadline, meaning that it may not have accounted for all of the renewal applications. Still, although the majority of those eligible applied for renewal, about a quarter of the eligible DACA beneficiaries appear to have failed to do so.
Current DACA beneficiaries should consult with an experienced immigration attorney for case-specific guidance. An experienced attorney will also monitor new developments in the laws surrounding DACA beneficiaries that may affect specific cases.
The situation for DACA beneficiaries remains in flux, and it is at this time unclear whether Congress will pass a legislative solution that President Donald Trump will sign. Furthermore, there are multiple pending lawsuits against the rescission of the DACA memo that may bear watching. We will continue to update the website with new information on this and related issues.
