On Sept. 27, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy first outlined in the 2012 Napolitano Memorandum. The DACA policy allows for certain young people who came to the United States as undocumented before they turned 16 and were generally low enforcement priorities to apply for deferred action, a form of prosecutorial discretion, and work authorization. If granted, applicants receive two years of protection from removal. Since the DACA policy was enacted in 2012, more than 825,000 individuals have successfully applied under the program.

The DACA policy has been met with significant pushback from advocates and detractors since its original announcement in 2012. Immigration advocates called for a more permanent solution, arguing that the policy was only a temporary stopgap for how to deal with the estimated 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who met the requirements for the program. Additionally, DACA only provided a grant of deferred action, a temporary reprieve from removal, and does not confer any right to remain in or re-enter the United States. Meanwhile, opponents of the policy argued that then-President Barack Obama overstepped his authority and that only Congress had the power to enact immigration legislation.