Federal govt. expected to take new DACA applications again

It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of people could be eligible once a federal judge issues an order to formalize plans laid out by the Department of Justice.

McALLEN, Texas — The federal government is expected to again accept new applications for a program that grants some people without legal immigration status the ability to live and work in the United States.

Lawyers for the federal government and immigrant advocates have presented plans before a federal judge that would open the door again to accepting applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA.

One state — Texas, where the case is being heard — however, would be exempted from providing work permits.

It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of people could be eligible to be enrolled in DACA, once a federal judge issues an order to formalize plans laid out by the Department of Justice in a legal filing made on Monday. The program, created under the Obama administration, grants people without legal immigration status who were brought into the country by their parents two-year, renewable permits to live and work in the U.S. legally.

The program has allowed people who were brought to the United States as children to temporarily remain in the country and obtain work permits. It does not confer legal status but provides protection from deportation.