Roughly 525,000 people have active DACA status in the United States as of early 2025, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration and Citizenship Data That figure has been sliding for years, and it will keep sliding. A federal court order has blocked all first-time applications since 2021, so no one new can enter the program. About 830,000 people have been approved at some point since DACA launched in 2012, and the active count has drifted down from that peak through expired renewals, recipients aging into other statuses, voluntary departures, and transitions to green cards.2Congress.gov. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA – By the Numbers
Why the Count Keeps Falling
In 2021, a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas ruled DACA unlawful and barred USCIS from approving new applications. On January 17, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that finding, agreeing the program conflicts with federal immigration law.3Justia Law. Texas v United States, No 23-40653 5th Cir 2025 USCIS still accepts initial requests on paper but will not process them.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Renewals for people who already hold DACA continue.
That combination creates a closed pool. Every recipient who lets a renewal lapse, obtains a green card through marriage or employment sponsorship, or leaves the country subtracts one from the total, and nothing adds back in. The population peaked years ago and has been in steady decline since the injunction took effect.
Country of Birth
The overwhelming majority of recipients were born in Mexico. As of March 2025, about 426,570 active recipients listed Mexico as their country of birth, roughly 81 percent of the total.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration and Citizenship Data
Three Central American countries make up the next largest share. El Salvador accounts for roughly 20,740 recipients, Guatemala roughly 14,080, and Honduras roughly 12,900. Together those three add up to about 9 percent of the active total. Outside the Western Hemisphere, South Korea is the most represented country of origin, with about 4,560 recipients. Smaller cohorts, each in the low thousands, come from Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Argentina.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration and Citizenship Data
Where Recipients Live
Recipients cluster in states with large immigrant communities and strong labor markets. California leads by a wide margin with roughly 147,000 active recipients as of early 2025. Texas is second with about 88,000.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration and Citizenship Data Those two states alone account for close to 45 percent of every DACA holder in the country.
Illinois, New York, and Florida each hold tens of thousands of recipients, tied to the urban job markets around Chicago, New York City, and South Florida. Meaningful clusters also exist in North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and New Jersey. Where recipients live shapes local debates over in-state tuition, professional licensing, and driver’s license access.
How Old Recipients Are Now
DACA recipients are aging in place. When the program launched in 2012, applicants had to be at least 15 and under 31.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA More than a decade later, the median recipient is 31 years old, with the middle half of the population falling between 27 and 35.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration and Citizenship Data
This is no longer a population of students and teenagers. Most recipients arrived as young children, grew up in the United States, and are deep into their working years. Many have families, mortgages, small businesses, and professional careers. The cohort that applied at 15 in 2012 is now nearing 30. The cohort that applied at 30 is now in its early forties.
What These 525,000 People Actually Have
DACA grants two concrete things: protection from deportation and a work permit valid for two years at a time. With work authorization comes a Social Security number, which opens formal employment, tax filing, and in many states a driver’s license. Recipients pay federal and state income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare like any other worker.
DACA does not grant a green card, and it does not lead to citizenship. Only Congress can create that path.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions A recipient who wants permanent residency has to qualify through a separate channel, such as marriage to a U.S. citizen or employer sponsorship, and prior unlawful presence often complicates that route.
Recipients are shut out of most federal benefits. They cannot buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.7HealthCare.gov. Immigration Status to Qualify for the Marketplace They are ineligible for Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP. Federal student aid, including Pell Grants and federal student loans, is off the table, though some states offer their own aid that DACA recipients can access.
The Legal Ground Under the Number
DACA was created by a 2012 executive memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security, not by statute.8U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children DHS later issued a formal regulation to put it on firmer ground, and the Fifth Circuit found that rule unlawful too.3Justia Law. Texas v United States, No 23-40653 5th Cir 2025 A stay currently keeps renewals flowing while appeals continue, but that stay could be lifted. The roughly 525,000 people who hold DACA today live with a status that multiple federal courts have already declared unlawful, and Congress has not passed a permanent replacement despite years of proposals.