The Foreign Ministry welcomes the decision of the United States government to keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in force. On June 15, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement announcing that DACA would remain in effect and that eligible individuals would continue to have the option to renew their work permit every two years.
Since DACA was announced in 2012, the Mexican government has encouraged eligible Mexican youths to apply for the program. As a group, youths from Mexico have benefited the most from DACA.
The most up-to-date official figures (as of March 31, 2017) of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicate that 787,580 young people have benefited from DACA, of which 618,342 are Mexicans (78% of the total). In addition, USCIS has approved 799,077 applications for renewal, of which 622,170 are Mexican (77% of the total).
From January 1 to March 31, 2017, USCIS approved 17,157 initial DACA applications, of which 14,030 were from Mexicans (81% of the total). In that same period, USCIS approved 107,473 DACA renewal applications, of which 85,883 were Mexicans (79% of the total).
Since the start of the new US administration, the Mexican government has insisted on DACA's continuation in order to keep the thousands of talented young Mexicans enrolled in the program protected.
On behalf of the Mexican government, the Foreign Ministry urges the Mexican and Mexican-American community to stay informed about the program, using official information, our embassy and 50 consulates in the United States.