The Department of Homeland Security is continuing to process new applications for the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as the program is at risk of being removed, according to a Sept. 21 article from the LA Times.
DACA prohibits the deportation of immigrants who came to the United States as a child and allows them to stay in the country according to the National Immigration Law Center.
Texas U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ruled DACA was “unlawful” on Sept. 13th and ordered to put a hold on all pending applications, according to the same article.
“It’s frustrating for students because it doesn’t allow them to plan accordingly. [There’s] so many uncertainties,” UndocuSpartan Program Coordinator Ana Navarrete said. “No matter how hard they plan ahead, unfortunately all of this is just creating more instability in their life.”
San José State University's UndocuSpartan Resource Center provides assistance to undocumented students as they transition into college according to Navarrete. This includes help with DACA applications.
Navarrete, a DACA recipient herself, said she acts as a counselor for undocumented students and helps them with anything as far as questions relating to taxes and getting a driver’s license.
She said college in 2017 was a “transformational period for undocumented folks in California” because prior to college, navigating life was easier.
“You don’t have to provide a social security number to be able to receive resources at the high school level and once that switch happened, that’s when I started realizing this is what it means to be undocumented as an adult,” Naverrete said.
Residential Life Coordinator Mara Tinajero Daza said she found out about DACA on the news but at the time, did not have much knowledge about it.
Tinajero Daza said it took time to gather the required documents and payment for the program’s application.
“I'm low income. To be able to just have 500 extra dollars to put towards an application was pretty tough,” Tinajero Daza said.
She said she didn’t feel any different from her classmates growing up until after high school.
“It was upsetting to know that even though I felt like I grew up here all my life, I wasn't treated the same way as my peers and I had to go through this different process,” 2Tinajero Daza said. “It felt very alienating.”
Sociology senior Patricio Barajas has received support from DACA since 2015 and could only imagine how difficult it must be for others without the program’s support.
Barajas said the program didn’t fix problems for immigrants. However, it helped him navigate life as an immigrant in the United States.
“It provides work authorization so therefore, I'm able to work here. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't even be here,” Barajas said.
As UndocuSpartan student assistant and peer mentor, Barajas said he wanted to give back to the undocumented community and create a safe environment for those who were once in his shoes.
He also said students should be sharing their cultural capital with each other according to Barajas.
“Genuinely, that's what I think a lot of us deserve,” Barajas said. “You know, just knowing somebody that knows where to send you for resources, even if you don't know yourself, it just helps. It's just important things that we should have.”
Navarrete, who is also a peer mentor for the center, said DACA is a “temporary solution” considering that the program has reappeared in the court for years.
Barajas said his experience as a recipient of DACA is like a “roller coaster.”
“Sometimes you're doing so good, but then reality hits you and you get a reality check,” Barajas said.
He said the new court decision prevents the newer generation of undocumented students from seeking future opportunities.
In the past two years, the number of requests for DACA has seen a significant decrease from 470,636 applications in 2021 to 71,669 in 2022, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“You may start to feel sometimes melancholic or depressed because you feel you have all these aspirations, yet you cannot launch them because sometimes they're not even a possibility so you have to be creative,” Barajas said.
Navarrete said opposition for DACA contributed to its reappearance in the federal court and can soon appear in the supreme court.
Tinajero Daza said opposition for the program is generally from people who believe immigrants take jobs and have no contribution to society.
“People frame it as a financial issue [or] a political issue back in the day. To me, it's a human rights issue,” Tinajero Daza said.
Tinajero Daza said the possibility of the DACA program being revoked could lead to panic for those who built their life on top of a ground the program helped build.
She said those who already have jobs and degrees would not know if those opportunities would be there without DACA.
“If I have my degrees, but I don't have DACA, what does that still mean for me?” Tinajero Daza said.
Tinajero Daza said people in the United States are told that if they work hard enough, they can achieve their goals.
She also said that mindset is based on a broken meritocracy ideal.
“I've done everything I could,” Tinajero Daza said. “I've taken advantage of opportunities, I've worked hard [and] I have my degrees. Yet, because of a program like this, that could potentially be taken away.”
