DACA

[dah-kuh]

noun

1. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: a program intended to allow undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors to legally remain in the country to study or work.

Word History and Origins

Origin of DACA¹

First recorded in 2010–15

Example Sentences

Consider the one shutdown that Democrats did instigate before: the 2018 one over DACA.

From Slate

“These proposals do not limit DHS from undertaking any future lawful changes to DACA,” the filing states.

From Los Angeles Times

More than 525,000 immigrants are currently enrolled in DACA.

From Los Angeles Times

Peña, who also has DACA, said she knows many people in Texas who are thinking about moving out of state.

From Los Angeles Times

“DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a press secretary for the agency.

From Slate

When To Use

What does DACA mean?

DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an immigration policy, enacted by the Obama administration in 2012, that allows undocumented people, known as Dreamers, brought to the United States as children to defer deportation and live and work in the U.S. legally.With efforts by the Trump administration to end it being challenged in court, DACA has become a flashpoint for the immigration debate in the U.S.On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant, 5-to-4 ruling against President Trump's effort to terminate DACA in September 2017. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts found that, while a president has the authority to end DACA if they provide valid, proper reasons, the Trump administration's decision was "arbitrary and capricious."The ruling protects hundreds of thousands of Dreamers from deportation for now by blocking the Trump administration's immediate ending of the DACA program. Other implications of the ruling are that DACA is legal, but also that a president could end the program in the future, if done so in a reasoned way. Congress would still need to pass legislation to determine the permanent legal status of Dreamers.