The DACA program was created in 2012 by President Barack Obama. This program issued deportation relief as well as work permits for a numerous amount of undocumented immigrant children who came to the United States and met certain background criteria. However, earlier this month the U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA was making actions to put an end to the program.
With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program ending, what should businesses begin to consider?
According to immigration attorneys, the best action to take right now is to make sure that I-9 records are in order. By using the “tickler system,” employers can receive alerts about temporary employment documents that are about to expire. Those that have an employment authorization document (EAD), often known as a work permit, may be issued to DACA recipients and are valid for a limited duration.
What are legal risks that businesses face?
· Businesses are faced with the potential discrimination claims if they were to terminate employees or reject applicants solely becase they are a DACA recipient with valid work permits.
· Employers should not single out any one person that may be a DACA receipient but instead treat everyone equally.
· Another major risk they may encounter is losing valuable employees due to DACA. They should therefore set up a tickler system that will notify them in advance of the expiring work permits.