DACA Resources

NEA and an ally organization created a resource that helps answer questions about DACA eligibility and how to apply. 

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) is a memorandum passed on June 15, 2012. It was implemented by the Secretary of the Department Homeland Security.  It directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to practice prosecutorial discretion towards some individuals who immigrated illegally to the United States as children.

 

A grant of deferred removal action does not confer lawful immigration status, alter an individual’s existing immigration status, or provide a path to citizenship.

A Washington Post report looks at the past year and where the applicants come from.  The infographic paints a picture that shows where DACA applicants were born, and where they live now

DACA applicants were born in 192 countries. While individuals from Mexico make up the majority of applicants in most states, states along the East Coast have a more diverse composition. These maps show the percentage breakdown of applicants in each state, by the region where the individual was born. 

According to the Brookings Institute, 537,000 young people have been accepted into the DACA program since last August.

Many say that the program is working for some and not working for others.  For example in this ABC news report from Houston yesterday, some young people are having trouble getting simple documentation from their country of birth.  In this case an honor student can not get a copy of his birth certificate from the Mexican government thus throwing his opportunity to get deferred action and continue his higher ed studies into limbo.