It’s now been 2 weeks since Donald Trump was elected President but it feels like it’s been a year. The program that I am most worried about is the DACA program that President Obama started in 2012. I’m sure most people reading this know what the DACA program is so I won’t bother getting into that.
During the presidential campaign in the summer and fall of 2016, Trump said he would cancel the DACA program. However, once he was elected President, he said the DACA members should be protected and indicated he was not going to cancel the program. However, Trump is not anyone whose words you should believe. Find any quote from Trump on any issue, and you can probably find a quote from him saying the opposite at some point in the last few years.
Last week Vox.com published a leaded PROPOSED executive order dated 01/27/2017 that would abolish the DACA program and allow everyone who has a work permit to continue to use it until it expires, but that they would not be able to renew their permits when they expire in 2018 and 2019.
This was very concerning, but for some reason, Trump hasn’t signed that Executive Order. It’s possible that he will, however, there is no way to know. So, I know the first question anyone who’s thinking about renewing their DACA work permit is,
“Should I file my renewal application?” My answer to that question for most cases is “Yes”.
I think that if you file a renewal application, once it’s accepted by USCIS then they will probably issue your work permit extension. Most people don’t really have any choice about it. If they don’t renew their application, there is a 100% chance they will lose their work authorization and their driver’s license will expire. If they renew it, the cost of the renewal is $495, and that is your best chance to extend your work permit and driver’s license.
It is possible that Trump could cancel the program and decide that anyone who has a pending application would lose the $495 they spent on the application. But I don’t think this will happen. He is already taking a beating in popularity polls and canceling the DACA program would just cause more protests and further drop his approval rating with the public.
His presidency has been such a disaster so far that I can’t see him making another unpopular move like canceling DACA. So, I hope anyone reading has a better understanding of the DACA situation. You can always call my office with any questions about your case or the DACA program in general.