Legal Update: DACA Recipients Are Still Subject to Immigration Court Proceedings

For years, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has been invaluable to many thousands of individuals who were brought to the United States as children. DACA has offered some sense of immigration security and has given many recipients the opportunity to better support themselves and their families by having access to work permits.

When someone is granted “Deferred Action” it means that the immigration authority has found that person to not be deserving of removal from the United States. Deferred Action is temporary and typically requires renewal, along with background checks, every year or two. It means that - in the case of DACA recipients - USCIS has found the person to be deserving of a reprieve from being removed from the United States while they hold DACA.

Increasingly though, a determination that one government agency has made - in this case USCIS - has little bearing on other immigration agencies. In August, 2025, despite having DACA, the Department of Homeland Security issued an individual a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court. The Immigration Judge terminated the case, finding termination to be appropriate because the individual held DACA. But, on April 24, 2026 the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a decision in the case, finding that the fact that the person held DACA “is not the sole, dispositive consideration for whether” the court case against her should be terminated. Matter of Santiago-Santiago, 29 I&N Dec. 589 (BIA 2026). The Board returned the case to the Immigration Court with a demand that the Judge consider the Department of Homeland Security’s interests in removing the DACA recipient.

The DACA program has seen many changes since its implementation. This decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals indicates that DACA recipients may now need to be prepared to defend themselves against removal charges, despite USCIS determining that they have “Deferred Action” against removal from the United States.