What happened
DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is still in place, but it has been operating under court orders for years. The current rules come from two places: the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) DACA page, and a January 17, 2025 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Texas v. United States, No. 23-40653.
USCIS states it plainly: “USCIS will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization.” On first-time requests it says the opposite: “USCIS will continue to accept initial requests but will not process initial DACA requests at this time.” And on people who already have it: “Current grants of DACA and related Employment Authorization Documents remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated.” Those lines were still posted on the Form I-821D page as of its June 1, 2026 update.
The Fifth Circuit's 2025 decision is why. The court held that the 2022 DACA rule conflicts with federal immigration law, but it narrowed the lower court's order in two ways. It limited the injunction “to Texas,” and it said the ruling must respect the rule's severability clause: the court wrote that it does “not disturb DACA's policy of forbearance,” meaning the protection from deportation is treated separately from work authorization. It also kept the existing pause in place for current recipients “pending a further order of this court or the Supreme Court,” and sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
Who this is about
Two groups, treated very differently. People who already have DACA can keep renewing it and the work permit that comes with it, and USCIS encourages sending the renewal 120 to 150 days before the expiration date on the current approval notice. People who have never had DACA can send a first-time request, but the agency will hold it without deciding it while the court orders stand.
What the sources do not say matters too. The USCIS pages do not announce any Texas-specific change to renewals or work permits, and the Fifth Circuit did not decide how its Texas-only ruling should be carried out; it left that to the district court. We could not find a public USCIS notice that this has changed as of September 7, 2026.
What it does not mean
- It does not mean DACA ended. Renewals are being accepted and processed, and existing grants and work permits stay valid until their own expiration date.
- It does not mean first-time requests are being approved. USCIS takes them in but does not process them.
- It does not mean the case is over. The Fifth Circuit sent it back to the district court, and the pause for current recipients lasts only until that court or the Supreme Court says otherwise.
- It does not mean anything specific about Texas has taken effect. The decision limited relief to Texas, but the USCIS pages do not describe a Texas-specific procedure.
What to do with this
If you have DACA, the one thing the sources are clear on is timing: USCIS asks for renewals 4 to 5 months before the expiration date. If you are unsure whether renewal, a first-time request, or something else fits your situation, that is a question for a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative at a recognized nonprofit. The organizations below are a place to start.
Advocasí is not a law firm. We explain what a policy says and help people prepare their own paperwork once a qualified advisor has told them which path applies.