In 2001, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would create a process for immigrants to apply for conditional residency that would lead to permanent residency based on their age when they entered the United States. Despite numerous reintroductions in each Congress from 2001 to 2023, the DREAM Act has failed to pass.
In June 2012, President Obama established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy by executive action. DACA allowed undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States at a young age to become eligible for a work permit, Social Security card, driver’s license, and deferred deportation. The Trump administration rescinded the policy in September 2017, but subsequent court decisions allowed the program to continue in some form. In 2022, the Biden administration published updated DACA regulations that seek to further strengthen the existing DACA program. The DACA program is now barred from accepting new applications, but current DACA recipients can apply to renew their status. ACE continues to advocate for permanent congressional legislation that would establish a program in statute.