It is hard to believe that just a few months ago President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Since then immigration lawyers, legal aid clinics, and immigrants rights organizations have been scrambling to react. How do we responsibly screen over one million young people for an unprecedented program with an uncertain future? How do we mentor the inexperienced immigration attorneys who want to take these cases? How can we encourage undocumented youth to help their own (as they have been for years) without straying into unauthorized practice of law? Should we worry about the upcoming presidential election?
Overall, the immigration law community has mounted an impressive effort to address these questions. This Emerging Issues Analysis presents a summary of the DACA program, highlights areas of uncertainty, and offers practice tips for attorneys.
Please see the attached PDF for the full-text of this article.