President Donald Trump's administration remains committed to deporting anyone in the country illegally, regardless of how old they were when they came to the United States.
Trump initially kept in place an Obama-era program that protected from deportation so-called "Dreamers," or immigrants in the United States illegally who arrived when they were minors. But in September his administration rescinded that program, called DACA for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, as officials focused on removing anyone in the country illegally.
The Department of Homeland Security said immigrants with an active DACA status would continue benefiting from deportation protection up to their application's validity period, and that it would adjudicate on a case-by-case basis applications from individuals with benefits expiring by March 5, 2018.
Trump told lawmakers in September to pass a legislative solution for Dreamers, but he has since warned that he won't sign an immigration bill if Democrats don't concede on funding for his promised border wall and support other proposed immigration policies.
It's uncertain whether a future spending bill will include a solution for Dreamers. Congress passed a stopgap spending bill in December to keep the government running until Jan. 19.
In year-end reports, immigration officials highlighted the administration's resolve to enforce immigration laws, without exceptions.
"The president made it clear in his executive orders: There's no population off the table," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Thomas Homan said on Dec. 5. "If you're in this country illegally, we're looking for you and we're going to look to apprehend you."
More people were arrested for civil violations of immigration laws in fiscal 2017 than in 2016, and deportations of people already living in the United States also went up in 2017. (The total number of deportations in fiscal year 2017 was lower than in 2016. That total includes removals of individuals apprehended at the border and in the interior of the country.)
Despite Trump's shifting stance on Dreamers, his administration has rescinded DACA and said it's committed to deporting all immigrants living illegally in the United States. We move this promise from Stalled to In the Works.