After a nearly four-year freeze on new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a January ruling by a federal court of appeals resumed access for first-time applicants across all 50 U.S. states this week.
However, it comes with a caveat, especially for Texas applicants. Under the ruling, new Texas applicants will not be able to receive work permits under the program, only protecting them from deportation. DACA applicants from other states, however, can still receive a work permit.
As of Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had not issued any new alerts or guidance on the reopening of applications. Officials post alerts with the latest news on the program, and the latest alert on the site still warns that no new applications are being processed.
“There is no doubt that today is a historic moment with first-time DACA applications having the opportunity to re-open across the country,” said Bruna Sollod, senior political director of United We Dream, in a written statement.
From its inception in 2012, the program offered protection from deportation and the ability to receive work permits to those who arrived in the country as children and met certain qualifications. But now advocates, like the immigrant youth-led organization United We Dream, advise all applicants to proceed with caution as the latest mandate could be appealed by the Trump administration.
“Today should be a day where we can celebrate unapologetically and without hesitation,” Sollod said. “But we are under no illusions. Donald Trump will continue with his agenda to target as many people as possible to mass abductions and indefinite detention.”
Many undocumented individuals who meet the program’s criteria have waited all this time to apply or hear back from their applications sent over the last four years. But for those in Texas, the conditions under this ruling have now changed.
Details on how these changes to the program will be implemented are yet to be determined. Even after the latest court of appeal’s ruling, the decision will likely go down to the district court level, advocates said. Those with active work permits under DACA in Texas, can and should still renew their permits.
Yolanda Batz, 23, took a chance and applied in 2020 when applications for DACA reopened after the Trump administration’s attempt to end the program in 2017. Her parents cautioned against giving the federal government full disclosure of her legal status, Batz said, but she sent in her documents along with the $500 fee and hoped for the best. A year later, a lawsuit that originated in Texas halted DACA once more, sending hers and thousands of other applicants back to square one.
“At this point I don’t even know if I’d want to apply because that really is it. The ability to work is what I’d actually need,” Batz said. “If it doesn’t come with that, then at least for me, it doesn’t make any sense to apply.”
Batz was brought to the U.S. at age of 3 by her parents, who immigrated from Guatemala. In 2024, she graduated from the University of Houston with a nursing degree, but without a work permit, she has not been able to practice and instead, has been working as a server at a restaurant since graduation to earn money. She also volunteers on the side teaching English through a nonprofit organization.
She is one of an estimated 577,000 Houston-area residents who are living in the country without legal status or temporary relief from deportation. And although deportation relief is important, she said a work permit would allow her to do more than just work — it would help her grow in her field.
“I’m doing the jobs that immigrants do, right? We come here and we work the jobs that citizens don’t want to do,” Batz said. “Which, I mean, it’s fine, we have to survive. So I’m willing to do it, but I have an education, and I know that I could do so much more,” Batz said. “This just hinders my ability to progress, I guess.”
Local legislators and business leaders have highlighted the benefits of providing a legal avenue for these individuals to work.
“It is indisputable that this population has been paying taxes and contributing to our economy for decades while withdrawing from our respective governments far less than they contribute,” said Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia during a panel at Rice University in 2024. “Just imagine how much more they could contribute if they had reasonable access to work authorization.”
As of Thursday evening, Batz planned to contact her attorney for advice, a step advocates highly recommend for those considering to apply for the first time. But she doesn’t think that she would take the risk of alerting the federal government under Trump once more of her immigration status.
Since graduating last year, she not only has been unable to pursue her career as a nurse, but also hasn’t been able to gain exposure to other areas of expertise in her field.
“I haven’t given up on that completely,” Batz said. “But right now, I don’t know if I’ll actually be able to practice. And if by the time I am able to, will I have forgotten everything and have to relearn?”
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