What's the current status of DACA? Here's what you need to know
Despite more than a decade of political and legal attacks, nearly 600,000 people are still receiving the benefits of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, renewing their DACA designations in two-year increments.
The program's future, however, remains clouded.
The Obama administration established DACA in 2012 as a "temporary stopgap measure" to allow Dreamers — immigrants brought to this country without authorization before they turned 16 — to work, travel and get higher education legally. It was never meant to be a path to citizenship or a permanent fix.
The program initially protected more than 800,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. prior to June 15, 2007. That number has dwindled as many have either failed to renew their applications or adjusted their status in other ways, such as by marrying a U.S. citizen. in favor of places that can grant them permanent citizenship.
