DACA

American  

[dah-kuh] / ˈdɑ kə /

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.

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Usage

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.

Etymology

Origin of DACA

First recorded in 2010–15

Example Sentences

More than half a million undocumented people are enrolled in higher education, but less than 30% of them qualify for DACA, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

A Department of Homeland Security lawyer who sat at a table near Diaz said that an addendum in Diaz’s arrest record in Texas acknowledged that he had DACA.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025

“Since he had DACA, under any other period of time in my time practicing, this would have been somewhat easy,” Muro said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025

Mangi has also been a fierce advocate for immigrants, joining a coalition of different faith groups in advocating for keeping DACA, and the LQBTQ+ community, writing an amicus brief defending Title VII.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2024