By Pablo B. Chavez
Up to 1.76 million undocumented students could benefit from the Deferred Action plan. Photo by Virginia Bulacio
All across the nation, thousands of young undocumented people and their families lined up Wednesday at workshops, legal offices and advocacy organizations for help in applying for the official start of a federal plan that will allow them to legally work and study while avoiding deportation.
First announced in June 15, with immense and mixed reactions, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will offer two-year renewable work permits and a temporary halt on deportation for young people who were brought into the country illegally as children or infants before they were 16, have no criminal record and meet certain criteria.
If accepted, the work permits granted will lead to internships, better jobs and other benefits that come with working social security numbers. “With these permits you can get a driver’s license or enroll in any school you choose, and you can work, so that you can help yourself,” said Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) in a recent interview with La Opinión
Irving Pena, 29, from the San Fernando Valley, arrived to California with his mother when he was 6 from Puebla, Mexico. “It didn’t seem like it would actually happen, it was just news to me, like the Dream Act, which never seems to happen,” he said, “until now when things are actually happening.”
The Deferred Action plan is not the DREAM Act, which failed to pass congress in 2010, but it is supported by President Obama and if approved, would provide legal status to these undocumented students. Moreover, thousands of undocumented students agree that Deferred Action is a step forward.
Regarded as President Obama’s most energetic immigration initiative, the Deferred Action plan stands to benefit as much as 1.76 million undocumented immigrants, many of which are known as DREAMers, who potentially meet the criteria, according to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
The process will take between two to four months and the cost of the application is $465.
Undocumented students like Irving hope to be able to finish school and get a degree. “I want to finish school and become a teacher, I’m so close to finishing,” he said. “It’ll make me feel like a regular person. I won’t have to be so careful around police, or in hiding. But it is a risk.”
Those risks essentially entail a detailed background check in a case-by case analysis, letting USCIS know the whole information of the applicant; where he/she lives, where he/she works, past history, etc. and it still doesn’t guarantee approval.
One of the many drawbacks critics claim to have found in the program is the nearly two million people that will be added to a suffering and competitive job market which could strain an already struggling economy.
But that didn’t stop the thousands that poured in crowds and piled in long lines with great expectation in New York’s Lower East Side, at Chicago’s Navy Pier, in Washington D.C. and here in Los Angeles outside legal clinics and advocacy offices for advice and information on the program.
“I’m still skeptical about it,” said Irving, “but I hope it does work.”
For more information about the application and process, visit The USCIS website.
Students share their thoughts about Deferred Action:
See more photos by the National Immigrant Justice Center of August 15, when thousands of students lined up in different places across the country in order to obtain legal advice.
Twitter@quechavez
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