Deferred Action for Parental Responsibility (DAPA) was created during the second term of the Barack Obama administration. This program provided protection to undocumented relatives of US citizens.
On November 21, 2014, President Obama extended an executive order instructing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not to prioritize the deportation of parents of United States Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) .
DAPA allowed beneficiaries, children of US citizens: To legally reside in the United States for a period of three years, with the option of renewal, work legally in the United States under the same conditions, travel within the country and obtain a social security number ( SSN).
However, on June 15, 2017, during the Donald Trump administration, DHS signed a memorandum that rescinded DAPA, finding that "there is no credible way forward to litigate the currently prohibited policy."
Now, during the Joe Biden administration, the Baker Institute has exposed the need to guarantee a program, like DAPA, that protects more than 3 million undocumented immigrants with American children from deportation.
The immigration policies that Joe Biden seeks to implement benefit the younger immigrant population in a greater proportion, however, the Baker Institute details that a comprehensive immigration reform plan is necessary: “In the absence of a complete immigration reform plan approved by Congress, deal with the status of these 3.4 million unauthorized migrants through DAPA or a similar approach. "
The Baker Institute explains that DAPA could benefit more people than Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
