E.g., 04/18/2024
E.g., 04/18/2024
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Data Tools

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Data Tools

Learn about participation in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program nationally and by state, as well as by top countries of origin. The two data tools offered here provide U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data on active DACA recipients at U.S. and state levels as of September 30, 2023, as well as the Migration Policy Institute’s 2022 estimates of individuals eligible to participate based on the criteria outlined at the program’s launch in 2012. MPI offers its estimates to permit comparison of current DACA recipients against the number that ever could have applied under the program’s original rules.

The first tool offers the number of active DACA recipients and MPI estimates at U.S. and state levels of individuals meeting all criteria to apply, whether or not they ever did. The second tool offers data for top countries of origin. Hover over a state or country to see the data.

* Estimates refer to the individuals who could have become eligible for DACA under the program's original 2012 rules.

For notes and sources, please see below second data tool.

 

* Estimates refer to the individuals who could have become eligible for DACA under the program's original 2012 rules.

Notes:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates of the DACA-eligible population as of 2022 include unauthorized immigrant youth who had been in the United States since 2007, were under the age of 16 at the time of arrival, and were under the age of 31 as of 2012. Three populations are estimated: (1) Immediately eligible youth and adults who met both age and educational criteria (i.e., they were ages 15 to 40 as of December 2022 and were either enrolled in school or had at least a high school diploma or equivalent); (2) youth and adults who were eligible but for education (i.e., those ages 15 to 40 as of December 2022 who met the other requirements but did not have a high school diploma or equivalent and were not enrolled in school); and (3) children eligible in the future who met the age-at-arrival requirements but were age 14 or younger in December 2022, and would become eligible when they reach age 15 provided they stay in school. For the immediately eligible population, the MPI estimates capture those meeting the criteria to apply for DACA, whether or not they ever did. As a result, past and current DACA recipients would be included within the MPI estimates. To capture the population eligible to apply in 2022 using 2019 data, MPI included in its estimates youth who would have turned age 15 through December 2022. Using the share of the DACA-eligible population ages 19 to 24 without a GED or high school diploma and not enrolled in school in 2019, MPI excluded a portion of the immediately eligible 17- and 18-year-olds in 2022 to account for potential school dropouts as this population ages. Eligibility due to adult-education program enrollment and ineligibility due to criminal history or lack of continuous U.S. presence were not modeled due to lack of ability to do so using Census data.

The 30 national-origin groups included in the tool are countries with at least 450 active DACA participants as of September 30, 2023.

Sources:
MPI analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), drawing on a methodology developed in consultation with James Bachmeier of Temple University and Jennifer Van Hook of The Pennsylvania State University, Population Research Institute; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), “Count of Active DACA Recipients by Month of Current DACA Expiration as of September 30, 2023," www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/active_daca_recipients_fy23_q4.pdf.