What will happen to DACA under a second Trump term?

WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping win in the 2024 election – and the promise of mass deportation and other immigrant policies as a central part of his campaign – has prompted concerns about the status of hundreds of thousands of people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program gives those who arrived in the U.S. unlawfully as kids – commonly known as "Dreamers" – the right to legally work, go to school and live in the country.

There were nearly 580,000 active DACA enrollees in the U.S. as of Dec. 31, 2023, the latest data available from the government. But there are as many as 3.6 million who live in the country, many of whom either did not apply for DACA or aged into the program after it stopped accepting new applicants, according to the National Immigration Forum.

Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, recently suggested in an interview that he would be willing to work with Democrats to address the future of Dreamers.

Here’s what to know:

What’s happening with DACA?

Former President Barack Obama first put DACA in place in 2012 for certain undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since built lives here – some even with their own children now. It helps shield people from deportation and provides two-year work permits. 

But years of litigation have followed. 

Opponents of DACA, mainly Texas and eight other Republican-led states, have said in court arguments and legal briefs that hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs fall on states when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally.

During Trump’s first term, he sought to end DACA but was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2020. President Joe Biden’s administration in 2022 renewed the program in hopes of winning court approval.

Last year, a district court in Texas ruled the DACA program unlawful, preventing the Biden administration from implementing the new regulations, and the decision was appealed to the 5th Circuit – which has ruled against DACA in the past. 

Oral arguments were heard on Oct. 10, 2024. It was unclear when or how the panel — Smith, nominated to the 5th Circuit by former President Ronald Reagan; Edith Brown Clement, nominated by former President George W. Bush; and Higginson, nominated by former President Barack Obama — will rule. 

The case will likely wind up at the Supreme Court.

What does that mean for DACA recipients?

While the case awaits a decision in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is still accepting first-time DACA applications but is unable to process them. 

However, DHS is continuing to process DACA renewal requests and related requests for employment authorization. 

"Even if the Fifth Circuit Court rules against DACA, they will likely continue to allow for renewals until the case is resolved at the Supreme Court," the immigrant youth advocacy group United We Dream says. 

What has Trump said about DACA? 

After the attempt to end DACA was blocked in 2020, the Trump administration said that it would try again. But in a recent Dec. 8 interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Trump was asked specifically if Dreamers should be worried about their future in the United States, and the president-elect said he "will work with Democrats on a plan."

"Republicans are very open to the dreamers," Trump said. "The dreamers, we’re talking many years ago, they were brought into this country. Many years ago. Some of them are no longer young people." 

"And in many cases, they’ve become successful. They have great jobs. In some cases they have small businesses. Some cases they might have large businesses. And we’re going to have to do something with them," Trump continued. 

When asked if he wants Dreamers to be able to stay, he said "I do."

"I want to be able to work something out, and it should’ve been able to be worked out over the last three or four years, and it never got worked out," Trump said. "I think we can work with the Democrats and work something out."

When asked about Trump’s remarks, some leading Senate Republicans signaled openness to a bipartisan deal but also voiced some skepticism about its possibility.

"We’ll see. The sweet spot on immigration reform has eluded us a number of times. But obviously, if there is a bipartisan willingness to take on that issue, then I’m certainly open to what we can do," incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told NBC News. "It’d be better long term if we could come up with some legislative solutions, but in the last few administrations, everything’s been done by executive action. So it’s going to take something to break that logjam."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who sits on the Judiciary Committee and has previously participated in immigration negotiations, echoed that sentiment.

"I take him seriously, but he’s going to have to put his shoulder to the wheel to get it done," Cornyn told NBC News, adding that border security and enforcement would take priority. 

"I did notice that this would have to be after we deal with the current hemorrhage at the border," Cornyn added. "If he’s committed to doing it, I think he can probably get it done."

Trump’s openness to the Dreamers comes in contrast to his more hard-line stance on border security and enforcement. During his 2024 campaign, he continually promised "the largest deportation operation in American history" regarding those living illegally in the U.S. – signaling a focus on people with criminal histories first.

Prof. Lenni Benson, who teaches immigration law at the New York Law School, told FOX 5 New York that even if the DACA program were to end, "that doesn’t mean a person is subject to deportation." She added that Dreamers with a criminal record would be more of a "priority." 

Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship, meaning anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen, as well as deporting millions of undocumented immigrants, even those with U.S.-born children. 

His incoming "border czar," Tom Homan, said earlier this year that while he thinks the government needed to prioritize national security threats, "no one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder."

He also said: "You’ve got my word. Trump comes back in January, I’ll be in his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen."

Homan said in recent interviews, however, that those targeted — at least initially — would be people posing a risk to public safety and pushed back on suggestions that the U.S. military would be assisting in finding and deporting immigrants.

Still, people who apply for DACA have to state in their application that they are in the country unlawfully, University of Southern California immigration law scholar Jean Lantz Reisz previously noted in an interview with The Conversation U.S.

"So the government could prove that DACA recipients can legally be deported, and will have information on where they live," Reisz said. 

What should DACA recipients do now?

DACA recipients are encouraged to apply for renewals within the recommended time frame – 120–150 days before expiration – "and look into any new pathways that might have opened for them," according to United We Dream.