A federal judge in the Eastern District of New York ruled on Saturday, November 14, 2020, that the new DACA guidelines set forth by acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf are invalid. The federal judge found that Mr. Wolf was not lawfully appointed as acting Homeland Security Secretary and therefore did not have authorization when he issued the DACA program’s restrictive guidelines.
Wolf’s July 2020 guidelines for DACA required that USCIS reject all first-time DACA applications, reject applications for advance parole from DACA recipients unless under exceptional circumstances and reduce the renewal period from 2 years to 1 year for DACA renewal applicants.
As a result of the recent ruling, we could see DACA return to its initial 2012 form. However, we are still awaiting further information on how this new ruling will definitively affect the DACA program. We will provide further information on the pending litigation as we receive the same.
