Federal and State Policies

Federal Laws and Policies

What is DACA?

If you need assistance with DACA, please refer to Community Resources.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an executive order by the Obama Administration announced in 2012, which grants undocumented youth recipients a social security number, work authorization & driver license/identification. DACA does not currently provide a long-term pathway to citizenship. 

  • The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) creates $3 Million Fund to Cover DACA Application Filing Fees for Undocumented Students, Faculty, and Staff

    The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has created a $3 million Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) filing fee assistance fund for individuals across the California Community College system. The fund will cover the $495 DACA application filing fees for students, faculty, and staff affiliated with a California Community College.

    Through the California Community College Immigration Services Project, nine Legal Service Providers have been contracted to provide immigration legal services, including DACA initial application, renewal assistance, and consultations to screen for affirmative immigration relief, to immigrant students, faculty and staff. Eligible students, faculty, and staff can access these supports confidentially through identified host colleges in their region. The legal service providers have committed to seeing each case from start to finish as long as they were affiliated with a California Community College at intake.

    To access the DACA filing fee assistance, students, faculty, and staff need to make an appointment with the closest identified host college within their region, which can be found on the Chancellor’s Office website. For questions regarding eligibility or issues with scheduling, please contact Alonso Garcia via email at algarcia@foundationccc.org.
  • July 16, 2021: A Federal District Court in Texas issued a ruling in Texas v. U.S> limiting the DACA program and declaring it unlawful. More detailed information will be offered as we learn more, but for now it is important to understand how this ruling impacts the DACA community. Learn more at Community Alert DACA Update - July 2021 (PDF).
  • December 7, 2020: Department of Homeland Security announces on its websites that it will accept DACA applications from first-time applicants, previously approved DACA and work-permits approved for 1 year will be extended to 2 years, and future DACA renewals are for two years.
  • November 14, 2020: A federal district court in New York ruled that DHS unlawfully issued its July 28, 2020 memorandum. The July 2020 memorandum had limited the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program by directing USCIS to (1) reject all initial requests, (2) reject DACA advance parole requests unless there are “exceptional circumstances” and (3) limit DACA renewals to 1 year rather than 2 years. The Federal Court in New York held that the July 28, 2020 DHS memorandum was invalid because Chad Wolf was not lawfully serving as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, so he had no authority to issue it. On December 4, 2020, the court formally vacated the memo and specifically ordered DHS to announce on its websites that it will accept initial DACA requests, renewal requests, and advance parole requests and that DACA and work permits granted for only 1 year are automatically extended to two years.
  • July 28, 2020: The Department of Homeland Security issued a memo stating changes to the DACA program to reject any new DACA applications and to limit the pending DACA renewals to one year.
  • July 17, 2020: The District Court in Maryland ordered the Administration to fully reopen the program, reiterating what the Supreme Court ordered a month prior.
  • June 18, 2020: The Supreme Court ordered the Administration to start accepting new DACA applications and requests for Advance Parole. Though the Supreme Court ordered this, USCIS did not begin to accept new initial applications.
  • January 13, 2018: Due to a federal court order, USCIS resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA.  Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in this guidance, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017. Please visit: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Response to January 2018 Preliminary Injunction.
  • September 5th, 2017: Trump Administration announced the rescission of the DACA Program.

The National Immigration Law Center has up to date information about DACA.

Another good resource is the California Immigrant Guide, which details on the impact of the DACA announcement on State Programs.

What is the DREAM Act?

The Federal Development, Relief, And Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The goal of the Federal DREAM Act was to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth who grew up in the United States. It was first introduced in Congress in 2001.

However, to this day, the Federal Dream Act has not yet passed. 

For information about DREAM ACT:

Resources for Special Immigration Statuses for Unique Populations

U-Visa: U Nonimmigrant Eligibility

VAWA: Violence Against Women Act – potential to become a lawful permanent resident

T-Visa: T Nonimmigrant Status for Victims of Human Trafficking

California Laws and Policies