On September 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a decision finding the DACA Final Rule unlawful and expanding its original July 16, 2021 injunction and order of vacatur to cover the Final Rule. The district court, however, maintained a partial stay of the order for “all DACA recipients who received their initial DACA status prior to July 16, 2021.”
Accordingly, current grants of DACA and related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated. In accordance with this decision, USCIS will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization under the DACA regulations at 8 CFR § 236.22 and § 236.23, as it has since October 31, 2022. USCIS will also continue to accept initial DACA requests, but in accordance with the district court’s order, USCIS will not process initial DACA requests.