As soon as Javier, a Dreamer beneficiary of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, learned of Donald Trump’s victory at the polls on November 5, he became nervous and decided to renew his work permit as soon as possible, even though It expires until August 2025.
“CHIRLA (Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants) called me offering help with the renewal, and they have always supported me in filling out the application and sending it,” says Javier.
So he went to CHIRLA on November 21 to get help with the DACA renewal paperwork and to have it reviewed by an immigration attorney before sending it.
“I’ve been told my application will be sent before Christmas. They are going to let me know,” he says.
Javier works as a manager for a storage company in Los Angeles.
“I’m in charge of the building and training new employees,” says this dreamer, who this year celebrates ten years of having benefited from DACA.
“It has benefited me a lot. I found a better job. Before I worked in construction and washed cars. Thank God since DACA, I have been moving up in my job and I am trying to get another promotion to continue growing in the company.”
Javier, who prefers not to reveal his full name or age, says he is married but has no children.
“I’m afraid of being a father because if they take away DACA from me, we don’t know where we’re going to go. I was born in the state of Mexico. They brought me here when I was three or four years old. My mother also lives here, and although I have relatives in Mexico, I don’t know them. I have lived my entire life in this country, and I have never returned to Mexico,” he says.
He adds that he would have nowhere to go in Mexico.
“I got nervous as soon as Trump won because he has everything going for him with the Republican Party controlling the Senate and the House of Representatives. “I am worried not only for myself and because he has always wanted to eliminate DACA, but for other family members and my mother who is undocumented.”
He reveals that DACA has allowed him to have an income to support his family and help his mother and younger siblings.
“I’m afraid they’ll take it away from me now. That’s why I decided to renew as soon as possible.”
He emphasizes that DACA recipients are not doing bad things in the United States.
“To have this program, we have to follow the rules, stay out of trouble. Every four years they check our fingerprints to see if we have a criminal record.”
And he also says that as DACAs they contribute to the country’s economy.
“With our work, we have money to provide for our families and we help the government.”
Even though Javier is quite concerned about the future of DACA, he says he has faith and hope that this program will be maintained, and that organizations like CHIRLA will continue to advocate for them.
Renewal campaign
CHIRLA launched a campaign encouraging DACA recipients to apply for renewal as soon as possible.
“We don’t know what the future of DACA is. For this reason, we are encouraging them to renew their work permits immediately so that they have two years of protection and work permit,” says CHIRLA lawyer Karla Aguayo.
He explains that usually the USCIS (the Citizenship and Immigration Service) recommends that DACA beneficiaries request renewal around 150 days before the work permit expires, that is, about five months before.
“Even if you are not yet 150 days before expiration, we are advising you to renew at once. The fear is that the Supreme Court is going to make a decision that eliminates the DACA program, and that no one can renew it.”
It says that if they renew now, they will have an extra year of protection, but if they wait to apply three months before the renewal, if there is a delay in processing, their DACA may be canceled, so it is better to do it as soon as possible. .
“Currently the cost of DACA renewal is $605 by mail, and $555 if you do it through the USCIS website. There are those who prefer to do it by mail, because they send them a receipt that it is being processed.”.
He explains that currently, the waiting time for DACA processing takes three months.
“We are also advising that those who can apply for citizenship do so as soon as possible because the experience in Trump’s first term is that processing times were very long.”
It stands out that CHIRLA offers free help for filling out the DACA and citizenship renewal application, although they have already run out of funds to pay the cost of immigration.
“The most advisable thing to receive help from CHIRLA with the application is to call before going to the migrant information and assistance line 888-624-4752,” he says.
He National Immigration Forum It is estimated that there are currently 535,000 Dreamers protected with DACA, but up to 800,000 were registered in 2012 when the program was established.
“The DACA population decreases every year, because there are several Dreamers who have been able to fix their status. “For those who are under DACA, we ask them to take advantage of the current administration’s short processing times to renew their work permits.”
The future in the courts
On September 5, 2017, the Trump administration ended DACA, and because the decision was appealed in the courts, DACA recipients have continued to renew their work permits every two years and are protected from deportation. The decision however eliminated the possibility of new applications.
After several years of litigation, in September 2023, the Federal District Court of Southern Texas ruled against DACA, determining that the program was illegal, but its future continues to be resolved in the courts.
It is believed that the case will eventually be resolved by the United States Supreme Court.
Recommendations
Some other recommendations for dreamers and undocumented immigrants, given by themselves, is that they join and actively participate in a local community organization in defense of immigrants, civil rights or human rights.
They even advise joining a church that is friendly to undocumented immigrants.
They also recommend consulting an immigration lawyer to see if they have any options that allow them to adjust their immigration status.
Another more optimistic dreamer, who preferred to omit her name, advised to continue preparing, learning new skills and acquiring more education.
“If you are valuable to society, you will do well here or wherever you go.” At the same time, there was no shortage of those who advised that in addition to organizing, you have to leave fear aside, because you cannot live in fear.
One more DACA, he said anonymously, that he will not leave the United States without fighting.