December 23, 2025
Ms. De La Cruz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To grant the Secretary of Homeland Security express statutory authority to issue Employment Authorization Documents to individuals granted deferred action under the DACA policy, thereby superseding any judicial interpretation or injunction that restricts such authorization.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Texas Dreamer Work Authorization Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose
(a) Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (hereinafter in this section referred to as DACA
) policy has allowed hundreds of thousands of individuals brought to the United States as children to contribute significantly to the economy, national security, and communities across the nation.
(2)
The granting of employment authorization to DACA recipients is critical to their ability to provide for their families, pay taxes, and utilize their education and skills, benefitting the entire country.
(3)
Recent judicial decisions have created uncertainty and an unequal application of the DACA policy, particularly by blocking the granting of work authorization for new applicants residing in certain jurisdictions, including the State of Texas.
(4)
It is the express intent of Congress to ensure uniform and continued access to employment authorization for all eligible DACA applicants nationwide, including first-time applicants, by providing clear statutory authority.
(b) Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to grant the Secretary of Homeland Security express statutory authority to issue Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to individuals granted deferred action under the DACA policy, thereby superseding any judicial interpretation or injunction that restricts such authorization.
Sec. 3. Employment authorization for daca recipients
Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(h) Employment authorization for DACA recipients
(1) In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including any judicial order to the contrary, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall authorize for employment any alien who is granted deferred action under DACA, or any successor policy.
(2) New applicants
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that each applicant for DACA who has not previously submitted such an application and who meets all other established DACA eligibility criteria (including any applicant residing in a jurisdiction previously subject to employment authorization restrictions) is eligible for and is issued authorization for employment concurrently with the grant of deferred action.
(3) DACA
In this subsection, the term
DACAmeans the policy set forth in the memorandum of the Department of Homeland Security entitledExercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Childrenissued on June 15, 2012.
Sec. 4. Effective date
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment.