Immigrant advocacy and legal aid groups sued the U.S. government over the delays in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewals. DACA lets over half a million undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children work and study with detention and removal protections. According to NBC, the renewal delays cost some recipients their work permits. This leaves recipients more vulnerable to detention and removal.
Background
The DACA Program, created in 2012, grants individuals that entered the country as undocumented children before 2007. Currently, the program applies to half a million people. The government’s spent significant effort in rolling back the program’s protections over the course of the past year. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) even ruled DACA status alone doesn’t protect recipients from detention and removal.
Impact
According to NBC, DACA renewal time for 2026 averages two and a half months. This is up from a two-week average in 2025. Some recipients waited five months for a renewal. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed the time jump, stating all renewal processing lasts one hundred and twenty days. For many DACA recipients, the sudden increase in renewal processing times put them at risk of losing work authorization.
As always, ILBSG actively monitors ongoing U.S. immigration news. If you have questions about any U.S. immigration related issue, please contact us. Working with an experienced attorney ensures you get the right advice based on the most recent laws and policy updates. In an ever-evolving immigration landscape, it’s particularly critical you get the right advice.