Delays in DACA renewal processing have left some recipients unable to work, they say, and at greater risk of deportation.<\/p>\n
DACA \u2013 which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals \u2013 is the federal policy that allows undocumented people brought to the country as children to continue to live and work legally in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Recipients must renew their status with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services every two years, each time paying more than $500 in fees, submitting to a screening and more.<\/p>\n
Last year, renewal applications were taking about three months on average to process, but that time started to increase in November, according to immigration attorney Jan Bejar.<\/p>\n
\u201cFile promptly,\u201d Bejar said he advises his clients with DACA. \u201cDon\u2019t wait until three months before the expiration, start it six months before your card expires.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without that renewal and employment authorization, DACA recipients cannot legally work and have no valid immigration status.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery movement they take is a risk that they will come across ICE or the Border Patrol or some other agency, now even the TSA, which could arrest them and possibly put them in deportation proceedings because technically they are out of status,\u201d Bejar said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the leadership of President Trump, USCIS is safeguarding the American people by more thoroughly screening and vetting all aliens, which can lengthen processing times,\u201d USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser said in a statement when asked about the delays.<\/p>\n
\u201cDACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cIllegal aliens claiming to be recipients of DACA are not automatically protected from deportation. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons \u2014including if they committed a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been amazing,\u201d said Elsa Sanchez, a DACA recipient. \u201cIt has opened a lot of doors for me. I think it has made dreams possible for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was brought to the U.S. when she was 4 years old and now works as a customer success manager for a company that runs electronic medical record systems for doctors\u2019 offices. She said she previously thought a corporate role and career advancement were out of reach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to adjust my mindset a little bit, you know?\u201d she said. \u201cNow going for jobs that I never thought I would go for before, and just feeling safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
In November, Sanchez submitted her DACA renewal, more than four months before it was set to expire on April 1. Each renewal process, she said, has been inconsistent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve never felt completely secure that I’m always going to get my DACA every two years,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like it’s been something that I have for two years, and I live really good for two years, and I’m happy, and then that renewal year is scary, always.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, she said she hadn\u2019t gotten an update by March, submitted an inquiry with USCIS and the agency said they would get back to her in 60 days. She\u2019s now past the expiration \u2013 placed on unpaid leave from her job as she waits.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust hearing those words, just being told that, you know, we have the 60 days, but that it could lead to a termination was super discouraging,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cJust sad really. I think sadness and disappointment was what I felt that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s now dipping into her savings to pay rent, she says, with her daughter\u2019s college tuition bill due in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually can define it as a pause on my dream,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cIt’s not because of me, it\u2019s not because I did anything wrong, it\u2019s not because I didn\u2019t renew on time, it’s simply because it hasn’t got processed. I think that having a pause is a setback.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she’s also leaving the house less and driving less out of fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cFull anxiety, like I just don’t do it,\u201d she said. \u201cI have everything very close by, so I’m very grateful and I’m able to just, you know, go down the street either walking or if I do drive like it’s really just a couple of street lights over, but it’s just anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n
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