Congress failed to reach a deal on immigration legislation last week to restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that the Trump Administration wants to phase out. DACA is a program initiated by executive action during the Obama Administration that permits young undocumented aliens who reside in the United States and who were brought by their parents to the U.S. illegally as children, and who meet strict eligibility requirements, to legally reside and work in the U.S. for two years, with the option for renewal of DACA status.
Congress was under time pressure to try to enact DACA legislation by March 5, 2018, the date on which the current program was set to expire pursuant to a memorandum issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last September. As the result of two subsequent federal trial court rulings, however, which have enjoined the Trump Administration from shutting the program down, DACA will remain in effect with respect to renewals for the time being until legal challenges to these rulings are ultimately resolved.
From a practical perspective, this all means that employees who are DACA beneficiaries remain eligible to renew their DACA status, and employers should not treat beneficiaries differently from other employees when taking steps to verify or re-verify work authorization.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.