On Thursday, the CSU Office of the Chancellor collaborated with the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center to broadcast a panel of legal experts discussing the latest updates regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
The livestream was aired at all 23 CSU campuses, including San Jose State University.
Rachel Ray and Vivek Mittal, both managing attorneys at the UC Immigrant Legal Service Center, hosted the panel at the Davis campus. The lawyers touched upon a range of topics, from the California State bills that impact undocumented students, to the legality of filming encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It is legal to film any encounter with law enforcement, just make sure you are not risking your own safety in the process,” Mittal explained.
The major updates on DACA came following the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that was announced on the day of the livestream.
The San Francisco-based court upheld the preliminary injunction issued by Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California. An injunction prevents a party in the lawsuit from carrying out any action until the case is decided.
This means that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must continue processing renewal applications.
“Even if the 9th Circuit decided to stop DACA renewals, the decision from a similar lawsuit in New York applies nationwide should stay in effect and allow renewals to continue,” Ray said.
In a press conference on Friday outside of the White House, President Donald Trump said that the decision from the 9th Circuit was good news.
“You rarely win in the 9th Circuit,” Trump told reporters. “By rejecting [the DACA case] in the 9th Circuit, we get to the Supreme Court, and we want to be in the Supreme Court.”
Both Ray and Mittal agreed that the ruling from the 9th Circuit will allow the federal government to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court, but they have 90 days to do so.
Students who have received DACA are being advised not to leave the country, even for study abroad programs that are required to graduate for some majors.
“We understand the importance of studying abroad, but because of current US immigration policies, we believe that it would be prudent for DACA students to substitute international experiences with domestic immersion experiences,” said Ruth Huard, dean of the College of International and Extended Studies.
She continued, “Our Global Education and Initiatives office is developing several domestic opportunities for DACA students and students who are unable to travel outside of the U.S.”
Mittal also stressed that current recipients are entitled to a variety of state benefits, like a driver’s license, Cal Grant – a state agency that distributes financial aid to students – and Medi-Cal, California state’s Medicaid program made to serve low-income individuals.
Undocumented people are eligible for the full scope of Medi-Cal if they permanently live in California and meet the household income requirement of 138 percent below the federal poverty line.
The 2018 federal poverty line for a family of four is $25,100, according to Healthcare.org.
Though the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are not processing new applications, those whose DACA status expired on or before Sept. 5, 2016 may renew their status by filling out a DACA renewal application.
DACA recipients who wish to renew their status are advised by the panel to consult a licensed immigration attorney.
California Senate Bill No. 840 that passed on June 27 secured $4 million to the UC Immigrant Legal Service Center.
While the CSU system remains without its own legal services center, the UndocuSpartan Student Resource Center continues to partner with many nonprofit law offices in the area.
“There is money set aside for the CSUs to use for their own immigration services, but there is still much planning as to how the money will be allocated,” Ana Navarrete, the program coordinator at UndocuSpartan said.
A graduate of philosophy and DACA recipient at SJSU, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that she attended the Thursday.
“I almost lost my work permit last year because of all the pending lawsuits from people wanting to end DACA,” she said. “I come to events like this because I never want to be in a situation where I am uninformed, especially on something that can have really huge effects on my life.”
