The federal government plans to begin processing initial applications for DACA, the Obama-era program that grants deportation protection and work permits to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. This move, outlined in a proposal by the Justice Department, would reopen DACA to first-time applicants in every state except Texas.<\/p>\n
The proposal was filed in response to an ongoing lawsuit in U.S. district court in Brownsville, Tex. According to the filing, Texas residents who already have DACA could continue receiving protection from deportation but would no longer qualify for employment authorization. Lawsuits over DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, have been ongoing since President Trump moved to end the program during his first term.<\/p>\n
Under the government\u2019s proposal, DACA recipients who move into Texas would risk losing their legal ability to work, while moving out of Texas could allow them to resume qualifying for a two-year work permit. The proposal is pending a final decision by U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen. \u201cThese proposals do not limit DHS from undertaking any future lawful changes to DACA,\u201d the filing states.<\/p>\n
Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, deputy director of federal advocacy for United We Dream, said misinformation was circulating on social media. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of folks saying initial applications will start right away. That\u2019s not true,\u201d she said. \u201cThe status quo stays. If you are a DACA recipient right now, even in Texas, if you can renew you should renew as soon as possible because then you have another two years.\u201d Other advocacy groups, such as the nonprofit Dreamers2gether, urged DACA recipients and hopeful applicants to leave Texas and file a change of address form with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.<\/p>\n
More than 525,000 immigrants are currently enrolled in DACA. Texas follows California in the ranking of states with the highest number of program enrollees, according to USCIS. To qualify, applicants must prove they came to the U.S. before they turned 16 and have graduated from high school or were honorably discharged from the military. Applicants also cannot have serious criminal records.<\/p>\n
But for years the program has sat in a state of uncertainty, stoking anxiety for many recipients, amid court battles that stopped applications from being processed and left many younger people who would have aged into qualifying for DACA instead vulnerable to deportation. In this first term, Trump attempted to shut down the program, but the Supreme Court concluded in 2020 that his administration had acted improperly. The court did not rule on the program\u2019s legality.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles resident Atziri Pe\u00f1a, 27, runs a clothing company called Barrio Drive that donates proceeds toward helping DACA recipients renew their applications. Pe\u00f1a, who also has DACA, said she knows many people in Texas who are thinking about moving out of state. The latest news is another example of how the immigration system breaks families apart, she said. \u201cA lot of us who are DACA recipients, we don\u2019t necessarily know what it was like to be undocumented before DACA, so most of us have careers that we won\u2019t be able to continue,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n
United We Dream has recorded at least 19 current DACA recipients detained by immigration agents in recent months. In one case in Texas, immigration authorities have kept Catalina \u201cXochitl\u201d Santiago detained despite an immigration judge saying she cannot be deported. \u201cIt\u2019s a way of making sure she can\u2019t renew her DACA and then she becomes deportable,\u201d said Macedo do Nascimento. In her view, the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s attitude toward DACA recipients lately has diminished the protections it offers.<\/p>\n
The proposal to reopen DACA to new applicants is a significant development for immigrants who have been waiting for years to apply. While there are still many uncertainties and challenges ahead, the move offers a glimmer of hope for those who have been living in limbo. As the situation continues to evolve, it is essential to stay informed and seek guidance from advocacy groups and legal experts.<\/p>\n
U.S. to Consider New Applications for DACA for the First Time in Years Introduction to DACA The federal government plans to begin processing initial applications for DACA, the Obama-era program that grants deportation protection and work permits to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. This move, outlined in a proposal by the Justice Department, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22161","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/b40d49b\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/840x441+0+43\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1c%2F8e%2F984fa6e744b2aceda778feb7f820%2Fdaca.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22164,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22161\/revisions\/22164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}