DACA celebrated its first birthday on Thursday, Aug 15. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program was initiated by the President last year to grant temporary residence status to undocumented individuals illegally brought to the United States as children. By the end of June, 2013, 400,562 people had been accepted into the program from the nearly 550,000 who had applied.
The resolution passed by the RNC on Friday, Aug 16, makes it clear that the GOP is not interested in an immigration reform bill that paves a pathway for citizenship to the undocumented 11 million or the dreamers. In fact, Sen. Rubio went to the lengths of stating that the President may legalize the undocumented through a special order just the way he introduced DACA.
Some immigrants have even obtained their work authorization card and driver's license through the Program. More than 115,000 immigrants had applied during fall last year itself; however, this year the applicants are fewer drastically dropping down to nearly 17,000 applicants so far.
Studies conducted revealed that applicant's age, gender, ethnicity and geographical area influence their chances of applying for DACA. These men and women have lesser awareness on the issue compared to the individuals who have already applied for the program. More outreach is needed for encouraging applicants to apply for it.
The Hispanic Community has higher level of awareness for the program owing to the wide coverage of the DACA program and its advocacy through the Media. The Asian community, especially, the Chinese, have not yet taken much advantage of the program since their Media has not provided enough coverage to the issue.
If you wish to apply for the DACA program, you need to show proofs of the following:
1.You were aged younger than 31 as of June 15, 2012;
2.You came to the States before your 16th birthday;
3.You have been living in the US since 15th June, 2007 up to now.
4.You were physically present in the country on 15th June, 2012 and also at the time when you will make your request for consideration in the program.
5.Your lawful residential status expired as of 15th June, 2012 and you entered without inspection before the same date.
6.You are currently pursuing high school or have obtained GED Certificate or have been honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or the Armed Forces.
7.Your criminal record is non-existent. You have not been convicted of a felony or three or more other misdemeanors or a significant misdemeanor. In addition, you must not pose a threat to public safety or national security.
High School drop-outs who have not served in the Coast Guard or the Armed forces shall not be considered for the program. Deferred action is only a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. Deferred action is not a substitute for lawful status.