New DACA Report Unveils Offenses Include Murder, Rape, Weapon And Assault Charges

New DACA Report Unveils Offenses include Murder, Rape, Weapon and Assault Charges… 

WASHINGTON — On Saturday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the data  (PDF, 756 KB) on arrests and apprehensions of illegal aliens who requested Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

• The release of this report reflects the agency’s ongoing focus on transparency.

• The report provides updated information on known arrests and apprehensions of DACA requestors.

• The data may include arrests that did not result in convictions or where the charges were dropped or otherwise dismissed.

Among the findings of the release are the following:

• Nearly 110,000 DACA requestors out of nearly 889,000 (12%) had arrest records. Offenses in these arrest records include assault, battery, rape, murder and driving under the influence. 
• Of approved DACA requestors with an arrest, 85% (67,861) of them were arrested or apprehended before their most recent DACA approval.
• Of approved DACA requestors with an arrest, more than 31% (24,898) of them had more than one arrest.  
• Of all DACA requestors, 218 had more than 10 arrests. Of those, 54 had a DACA case status of “approved” as of October 2019. 

“As DACA continues to be the subject of both public discourse and ongoing litigation, USCIS remains committed to ensuring transparency and that the American people are informed about those receiving DACA,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli.

“This agency is obligated to continue accepting DACA requests from illegal aliens as a direct result of the previous administration’s decision to circumvent the laws as passed by Congress. We hope this data provides a better sense of the reality of those granted the privilege of a temporary deferral of removal action and work authorization under DACA,” said Cuccinelli.

Under current DACA guidelines, illegal aliens may be considered for DACA if they have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more “non-significant” misdemeanors not arising out of the same act, omission or scheme of misconduct, and they do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

The number of arrests illegal aliens have do not necessarily disqualify them from receiving DACA as a matter of discretion.

Background of DACA

[1]In November 2014, President Obama announced his intention to expand DACA to cover additional undocumented immigrants. Multiple states immediately sued to prevent the expansion which was ultimately blocked by an evenly divided Supreme Court.

Under President Trump the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the expansion on June 16, 2017, while continuing to review the existence of the DACA program as a whole.

Plans to phase out DACA were announced by the Trump Administration on September 5, 2017; implementation was put on hold for six months to allow Congress time to pass the Dream Act or some other legislative protection for Dreamers.

Congress failed to act and the time extension expired on March 5, 2018, but the phase-out of DACA has been put on hold by several courts.

On August 31, 2018, District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that DACA is likely unconstitutional. However, he let the program remain in place as litigation proceeds.

As of October 2019, the cancellation of the program was on hold by court order; a Supreme Court decision on the matter was not expected until 2020.

[1] Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_Action_for_Childhood_Arrivals