Who Would Have Gained Protection, but Did Not
Just under half of the nation’s unauthorized immigrant population – estimated currently at about 11 million – could have potentially benefited from programs President Obama announced in November 2014.
Mr. Obama’s programs for parents and children – Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, known as DAPA, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA – would have protected three categories of unauthorized immigrants:
Unauthorized parents of children who are United States citizens or legal permanent residents born on or before Nov. 20, 2014. To qualify, parents must have been in the United States since Jan.1, 2010.
Unauthorized immigrants born after June 15, 1981 who were brought to the United States before their 16th birthday and have been in the country since June 15, 2007.
Unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children before January 2010.
Unauthorized immigrants eligible for ...
DAPA:
3.6 million
Expanded DACA:
275,000
Existing DACA:
1.2 million
Ineligible for all programs:
6 million
Unauthorized immigrants eligible for ...
Expanded
DACA:
275,000
Existing
DACA:
1.2 million
Ineligible for
all programs:
6 million
DAPA:
3.6 million
Unauthorized immigrants eligible for ...
Expanded
DACA:
275,000
Existing
DACA:
1.2 million
Ineligible for
all programs:
6 million
DAPA:
3.6 million
Unauthorized immigrants eligible for ...
Ineligible for
all programs:
6 million
DAPA:
3.6 million
Existing
DACA:
1.2 million
Expanded
DACA:
275,000
Unauthorized immigrants eligible for ...
DAPA:
3.6 million
Expanded DACA:
275,000
Existing DACA:
1.2 million
Ineligible for all programs:
6 million
Mr. Obama’s plan granted DAPA-eligible immigrants authorization to work in the United States for three years at a time.
It also expanded the DACA program, which allows eligible young people to apply for deportation deferrals and work permits, to include unauthorized immigrants who entered the United States before January 2010, from the current cutoff of June 15, 2007. The expansion also eliminated the requirement that applicants be younger than 31 years old.
The status of young people who had qualified for the initial DACA program, which was created in 2012, were not at issue in the Supreme Court case. However, they could have also benefited from the decision, because the 2014 initiative increased the deferral period to three years from two years.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, more than 10 million people live in households with at least one potentially DAPA-eligible adult. Two-thirds of these adults have lived in the United States for at least 10 years, The majority of those eligible for all of Mr. Obama’s initiatives, shown below, live in three immigrant-heavy states: California, Texas and New York.
Eligible unauthorized immigrants
1 million
100,000
WASH.
10,000
N.Y.
N.J.
ILL.
CALIF.
N.C.
ARIZ.
GA.
TEX.
FLA.
Eligible unauthorized immigrants
1 million
100,000
WASH.
10,000
N.Y.
N.J.
ILL.
CALIF.
N.C.
ARIZ.
GA.
TEX.
FLA.
Eligible unauthorized immigrants
1 million
100,000
WASH.
10,000
N.Y.
N.J.
ILL.
CALIF.
N.C.
ARIZ.
GA.
TEX.
FLA.
Eligible unauthorized immigrants
1 million
100,000
10,000
N.Y.
CALIF.
TEX.
Nationally, unauthorized immigrants represent about a quarter of the total foreign-born population. Growth in the unauthorized immigrant population has slowed significantly since 2007, driven in part by a decline in immigrants from Mexico, where more than half of those immigrants were born. An increase in deportations and fewer economic incentives to come to the United States after the recession have contributed to the decline.
Deportations per year
Unauthorized immigrant population
400,000
12 million
All
300,000
9
200,000
6
Mexican-born
100,000
3
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
Unauthorized immigrant population
12 million
All
9
6
Mexican-born
3
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
Deportations per year
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
Deportations per year
Unauthorized immigrant population
400,000
12 million
All
300,000
9
200,000
6
Mexican-born
100,000
3
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
Deportations per year
Unauthorized immigrant population
400,000
12 million
All
300,000
9
200,000
6
Mexican-born
100,000
3
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
’90
’95
’00
’05
’07
’09
’14
How the Case Originated
Texas and 25 other states filed a lawsuit in December 2014 to stop Mr. Obama’s immigration initiatives from being implemented. Fewer than half of immigrants who were eligible for the programs live in those states.
States that sued
States that did not sue
ME
AK
VT
NH
MA
ND
SD
RI
MT
WI
MI
WA
MN
NY
CT
IA
PA
NE
IN
OR
NJ
ID
OH
WY
IL
KS
WV
NV
UT
CA
CO
MO
KY
DC
MD
DE
AZ
OK
AR
TN
NM
VA
NC
GA
HI
TX
LA
MS
AL
SC
FL
440,000
93,000
1.4 million
2.2 million
717,000
182,000
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing DACA
Eligible for
expanded DACA
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing DACA
Eligible for
expanded DACA
States that sued
States that did not sue
ME
AK
VT
NH
MA
MT
ND
SD
WI
MI
WA
MN
NY
CT
RI
ID
NE
IN
OH
OR
WY
IA
IL
PA
NJ
NV
UT
KS
WV
CA
CO
MO
KY
DC
MD
DE
AZ
OK
AR
TN
NC
NM
VA
TX
LA
MS
AL
GA
SC
HI
FL
440,000
93,000
717,000
182,000
1.4 million
2.2 million
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing DACA
Eligible for
expanded DACA
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing DACA
Eligible for
expanded DACA
States that sued
States that did not sue
ME
AK
VT
NH
MA
MT
ND
SD
WI
MI
WA
MN
NY
CT
RI
ID
NE
IN
OH
OR
WY
IA
IL
PA
NJ
NV
UT
KS
WV
CA
CO
MO
KY
DC
MD
DE
AZ
OK
AR
TN
NC
NM
VA
TX
LA
MS
AL
GA
SC
HI
FL
1.4 million
440,000
93,000
2.2 million
717,000
182,000
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing
DACA
Eligible for
expanded
DACA
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing
DACA
Eligible for
expanded
DACA
States that sued
ME
MT
ND
SD
WI
MI
ID
NE
IN
OH
NV
UT
KS
WV
AZ
OK
AR
TN
NC
TX
LA
MS
AL
GA
SC
FL
1.4 million
440,000
93,000
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing
DACA
Eligible for
expanded
DACA
States that did not sue
AK
VT
NH
MA
WA
MN
NY
CT
RI
OR
WY
IA
IL
PA
NJ
CA
CO
MO
KY
DC
MD
DE
NM
VA
HI
2.2 million
717,000
182,000
Eligible for
DAPA
Eligible for
existing
DACA
Eligible for
expanded
DACA
In the lawsuit, the states accused Mr. Obama of ignoring federal procedures for changing rules and of abusing the power of his office by sidestepping Congress. A federal district court in early 2015 issued an order to block the initiatives from going forward while the legal case proceeded. An appeals court affirmed the ruling and added a broader one, saying that the program also exceeded Mr. Obama’s statutory authority.