President Donald Trump on Saturday proposed to extend protections for individuals enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in exchange for $5.7 billion in funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. 

The Obama administration in June 2012 issued the DACA executive order after the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act did not pass in Congress several times. The young people affected by DACA and the DREAM Act are often referred to as “Dreamers.” 

The executive order allowed some illegal and undocumented immigrants who had entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to be exempted from deportation and to obtain renewable two-year work permits. 

Eligible persons must have lived continuously in the United States since 2007. 

They must be enrolled in school, have completed high school or the equivalent, or have been honorably discharged from military service.

They must not have been convicted of a felony or a serious misdemeanor, or otherwise pose a threat to national security. 

In November 2014, DACA was expanded to include illegal immigrants who entered the country before 2010, and it eliminated the requirement that applicants be younger than 31. 

The Trump administration rescinded the DACA program in September 2017. 

On Friday, the last day the U.S. Supreme Court could accept an appeal and schedule arguments, it took no action on the administration’s bid to end DACA, which means the program will likely survive until the fall, when the court again is in session.  
…