First Group of Dreamers are Granted Deferred Action

By Griselda Nevarez, Voxxi

One month after the Obama administration began accepting applications for the deferred action program that suspends the deportation of undocumented youth and gives them work permits, more than 72,000 applications have been received and dozens have been approved. 

The announcement came from top immigration officials on Tuesday.

They also said the first dreamers were granted deferred action this week and they expect a total of at least 200,000 young undocumented immigrants will have their applications in the pipeline by Nov. 6, the day of the presidential election.

The largest number of applications so far are coming from California, followed by Texas, New York, Florida and New Jersey. Most applicants were born in Mexico.

The total number of applications received so far is far below what officials expected. They had estimated that 250,000 applications would’ve been received in the first month that the application was made available.

But Cristina Jiménez, managing director of United We Dream Network, said there are a number of reasons for the low number of applications turned in.

She said the ganas to apply for deferred action are there, pointing to how there’s been a high demand from dreamers attending the informational forums even without much effort to promote the events. The problem, she said, is not having enough resources to help everyone apply.

“We’re trying to service as many people who attend our events as possible,” Jiménez said. “The biggest challenge is not having enough legal assistance and attorneys who are able to volunteer for the legal clinics we’ve been having across the country.”

The first official application drives to assist dreamers with their applications were held in various states on Aug. 25. That day, 6,000 dreamers were helped but there were hundreds more who were turned away because organizers didn’t have the adequate capacity to help everyone.

The next large application drive is scheduled for Sept. 22. Jiménez said there are already thousands of dreamers who are on waiting lists for that drive.

Another reason why dreamers are taking several weeks to apply is because a large portion of them still don’t have all their paperwork ready to prove they qualify for the federal program.

“It’s important to highlight that this is not something people can fill out in one or two days. This process takes a lot of time and effort,” she said noting that her 18-year-old brother just completed his application on Tuesday after he began gathering his documents in July.

Jiménez said there are dreamers who have done a good job of keeping their records, but there are many more who haven’t. Those individuals are having to go back and gather the documents they need, which could take some time.

School records, for example, could take a while to gather. Some school districts are experiencing a high demand of requests for transcripts, and dreamers are having to wait weeks to get their transcripts, consequently delaying their applications.

Jiménez also said dreamers are having to make at least three visits to informational events before actually completing and sending their applications.

 Deferred Action process

In their first visit, dreamers learn whether they qualify for deferred action and how to fill out the application. In their second visit, they have attorneys review their documents and most find that they don’t have the complete set of evidence. And in the final visit, dreamers have attorneys give their applications a final review.

“All of that takes time, and that is where we are really seeing the delay,” Jiménez said.

For weeks, the federal program has gotten criticism from Republicans like Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who filed a lawsuit last month on the behalf of 10 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees against it. Others, like members of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, are calling it a “a backdoor amnesty program.”

But its supporters say it will bring thousands of young undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and give them an opportunity to work and contribute to the United States. They also say it protects thousands of brilliant college students and graduates, whom the country has already invested in, from being deported.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Griselda Nevárez is a reporter with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington D.C.