DACA Turns 14 Amid Legal Uncertainty & Arizona Lawmakers Say It's Time for Congress to Act

On Monday evening, two Arizona congressmembers stood before a crowd in Central Phoenix to mark a significant milestone: 14 years since the creation of DACA, a program that has protected hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation in the only country most of them have ever known.

Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) and Greg Stanton (D-AZ) joined Dreamers and local advocates at the event, which touched on both the program's legacy and its uncertain future.

Ansari said constituents in her district have raised concerns about federal processing times. "I am still hearing so much from my constituents about the delays that they're facing, the processing issues that are happening under the Trump administration, which is creating a lot of fear and a lot of anxiety," she said.

Stanton pointed to Arizona as one of the states most directly shaped by the program. "DACA filled that space so that people had some level of security in our community," he said, while calling on Congress to go further. "These people who are creating businesses, starting families, teaching in our public schools have every right to a path to citizenship."

Path to Passing the Act

Both representatives voiced support for the Dream and Promise Act, legislation that would establish a pathway to permanent legal status for DACA recipients.

The bill, however, remains stalled in committee and has not advanced toward a full floor vote or cleared the Senate.

The anniversary comes at a complicated moment for the program, with the Department of Homeland Security confirming it has detained more than 260 DACA recipients and deported over 80.

An April 2026 immigration court ruling also found that DACA status alone is not sufficient grounds to stop removal proceedings against a recipient.

Separately, a federal appeals court ruling has blocked DACA work permits in Texas, while other states remain unaffected for now.

Supporters of stricter immigration enforcement argue that DACA, created through executive action rather than legislation, was never on firm legal ground to begin with.

A 2025 Gallup poll found roughly 80 percent of Americans support granting permanent legal status to people brought to the country as children, though Congress has yet to pass legislation to that effect.