Second DACA Injunction: DACA Renewal Applications Still Accepted

In the second injunction that blocks the Trump administration efforts to end DACA, Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York on Feb. 13, 2018 ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to accept certain DACA applications while litigation continues.

The ordered relief mirrors the preliminary injunction issued by Judge William Haskell Alsup in the Northern District of California on Jan. 9. It required USCIS to resume accepting DACA renewal applications from people who had previously been granted that relief. This second nationwide injunction similarly requires the Department of Homeland Security to maintain the DACA program on the same terms and conditions that existed before the administration on Sept. 5, 2017, issued a memo to rescind DACA, with the following exceptions:

• DHS need not consider new applications from individuals who have never before held DACA
• DHS is not required to provide advance parole to DACA beneficiaries
• DHS retains the discretion to adjudicate DACA renewal requests on a case-by-case, individualized basis.

The Department of Justice  has requested that the U.S. Supreme Court review Alsup’s order on its merits, bypassing the usual process of appealing to 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. As early as Feb. 16, 2018, the Supreme Court could announce a decision to review the injunction.

While the injunctions remain in place, USCIS has advised people who have previously received DACA that they may request renewal by filing the following forms:

• Form I-821D
• Form I-765, and
• I-765 Worksheet

Applicants whose DACA expired on or after Sept. 5, 2016 may file as renewal requestors. Applicants who previously held DACA and whose DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016 may file as initial requestors. Applications from those who have never received DACA will be NOT be accepted, nor will applications requesting advance parole.

DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before Sept. 5, 2017.