2015 Old Blog

Employment history can be a tricky issue when applying for deferred action. Candidates often have questions about how revealing their status will affect current or future employment. Here are some guidelines on how to approach your DACA status with your employer.

Photo by Gage Skidmore/ CCBY

If you were approved for deferred action, it may be time to apply for DACA renewal.

Early in 2013, the Illinois became one of the first U.S. states to pass legislation that would permit undocumented immigrant residents to obtain driver’s licenses. Eleven months later, the state is officially ready to start issuing new Temporary Visitor Driver’s Licenses (example at left) to undocumented immigrants in order to improve the lives and safety of everyone on Illinois roads.

Most college DREAMers have very limited resources. One of our biggest concerns is how to fund for the next school year. There are very few private scholarships out there that do not ask for a social security number. It is difficult for any DREAMer to obtain scholarships because of strong competition with other students, and therefore we have to stand out. My scholarships for the most part are not renewable. That means that every year I have to go on a hunt for scholarships. It is an emotional roller coaster that requires me to learn how to balance school and extracurricular activities. I have to be an outstanding student with building pressure to always earn A's so I stand out from all the other scholarship applicants. If I accomplish all this, there is still a possibility that I won't get the scholarship. That's the struggle we DREAMers face every year. When we are lucky enough to win scholarship money, we still have to fill out a form that asks us for our social security number. This just makes the journey difficult. Some DREAMERS I know do not receive any scholarship money and have been forced to leave school. Others don't reach their goal of obtaining straight A's or being involved, so we end up feeling unaccomplished. Even with many new scholarship funds created for DREAMers, many DREAMERs do not have the necessary financial support.

At Northern Illinois University I'm involved in a group called DREAM Action NIU. This group has been my home away from home. We talk about what is going on in the United States related to immigration. It is composed of allies and DREAMERS, including faculty members and other students. One of our major goals is to raise enough money for scholarships for DREAMers we give out at the end of each school year. DREAM Action NIU usually sells food at Latino events and other places that the school lets us. We also fundraise in other ways such as selling t-shirts with our logo.

I wanted NIU President Baker to see the hard work we put into building the funds for the scholarships, so I invited him to a car show on campus where we were fundraising. He attended the event and for the first time met some of the DREAM Action NIU members. He even bought our shirts!

100% of the funds we raise go to DREAMer scholarships. In recent years more faculty members have noticed and now they support us. With hard work last year was the first year we awarded four scholarships of $500 each. As a group we know what a difficult issue this is. DREAM Action provides support to each other. Although we have been successful in fundraising, it is always hard to pick a winner.

It is very difficult to get through each year like this, wondering, "Will I be "˜good' enough to receive any scholarships? Are the groups I am involved in the right once that will provide me with scholarships?" When I don't earn an A in my class I feel like the world is coming down on me because that means my GPA is going down. This means I would not stand out when it comes to picking a winner for the scholarships. If I do not receive enough private funds then I will not come back even with all the hard work I put in. NIU has a rule that is essentially, "Don't ask, don't tell," if you are undocumented. They do it to protect themselves, but I cannot express my true struggles and my true needs without disclosing my immigration status. Sometimes DREAMers like me just end up losing hope. It is in those moments we can realize our strength.

Interested in learning more about scholarships for DREAMers and DACA students? Read more here.

According to the most recent DACA report released by USCIS, 455,455 young people in the United States have been approved for Obama's deferred action program, which means that more and more DACA-mented immigrants can now start their futures in college and in their career. For many, the future may require traveling for educational, professional, or personal/family circumstances. Luckily, a DACA approval means you can travel anywhere within the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii and some U.S. territories, as long as the traveler never sets foot in soil that doesn't belong to the United States during the journey.

Last week I had a one-on-one meeting with Northern Illinois University President Baker, who wanted to learn more about college DREAMers at NIU and how to help them. Like a child in a toy store, I was so excited to see his office and the secret balcony that I heard he had. We went through a secret door in his office to the second floor where he has his meetings with the vice presidents of the university. Then we took the stairs to the top level. In the top of the balcony I met President Baker the human being. We talked about the plans he has for NIU, the vision he has for the university, and the 20/20 plan. He didn’t present himself as this high authority, but as a humble man interested in my life. I was shocked; why would a man that has so much power be interested in a DREAMer?

I interviewed three undocumented college students who all who come from different backgrounds. I wanted to compare how they view the struggles of being undocumented. These DREAMERs, one European, one Asian, and one Hispanic, study in different colleges and are in different places in their studies, but they all struggle with the same issue.

A DREAMER from Albania

Talking to an undocumented student from Europe I realized that we share the same problems but we face different struggles that come from being undocumented. The person that I interviewed showed no real worries. He has never been questioned for his legal status in a public setting. I concluded that it was because of his looks. This person had a white complexion with light eyes and his English is impressive for the 4 years he has been here.

I was curious to know why he had come to the USA if Europe is supposed to be better economically. His reason was that in his homeland everything was easy, he had money, a home but his mother thought it would be better here for them. They came using tourist visas and over stayed the estimated visiting days- just like my family. He was disappointed when he arrived here because he expected something better. However his mother forced him to stay. When he was old enough to leave by himself, he didn't want to because he found here the piece he was missing in his home land. In his case he found struggles making his life interesting and he found a new reason for life. For him, the struggle of being undocumented is not as difficult and his wealth back in his homeland has permitted him a comfortable life style. In my opinion, not all of Europeans are as lucky as him.

A DREAMER from the Philippines

A wonderful Asian woman also shared her story with me. She is currently attending college, works and has a four year old boy name Buddy. At first glance, everyone thinks that she has it all put together. People believe that it is easy for her to have a 3.6 GPA as well as to manage being a single mother and to provide for her son with no problem. This happens because she keeps her immigration status very private. Only a few people know of her real struggles. Once you get to know her you realize she struggles to pay out of pocket for her education because she is undocumented. You can tell she has been through discrimination from her past partner. Even with all the struggles she faces, she still manages to be extremely involved in the community. She brings Buddy to DREAM Action meetings. She teaches him that even if they do not have much he still has to give back. She also has served as the president of Phi Theta Kappa and Vice President for Intercultural Student Association. She is very involved with her community church. Like many Dreamers she was brought here as a child at the age of eight. She completed her elementary and high school years in the Oak Park community.

A DREAMER from Mexico

I also interviewed a person that fits the stereotype of an immigrant. He grew up in the United States and as a child he encountered the hardships of being an illegal Immigrant. He told me that during fourth grade he received an award for an art piece he created. The award was a savings bond that he could use to pay for college. He could not retrieve it because he did not have a Social Security number. Ever since then he has believed that he is not good enough for the system. Currently he is a senior at NIU and works three jobs just to pay for school. He told me he has gotten discriminated while driving and even in the movie theater. I could see he has lost hope. Now he takes any discrimination and obvious abuse from society as a normal thing.

Today, August 15, 2013 marks the one year anniversary of the day USCIS officially began accepting applications for its Deferred Action (DACA) program. What have we learned since then about this unprecedented executive order issued to protect young undocumented immigrants?

When the program launched last August, no one was certain of the risks of applying to this new and untested program. Many applicants were extremely fearful of possible deportations or consequences for family members. Others weren't satisfied with the program because it wasn't as comprehensive as the failed DREAM Act.

What We Now Know About Deferred Action

Ask any DACA-mented DREAMer, immigration-focused nonprofit, or immigration attorney and they will agree that Deferred Action was an incredible and occasionally frustrating learning experience. What we all now know:

• We learned that lack of access to educational programs like the GED made hundreds of thousands of DREAMers ineligible for the program.
• We learned that some parts of the application requirements can be tricky to prove, but that applicants could get creative with their evidence.
• We learned that the more complex Deferred Action cases with criminal background or continuous residency issues required the assistance of a reliable attorney.
• We learned that USCIS's estimated application process times were no guarantee, and some applicants spend up to six months or more in Deferred Action processing limbo.
• We learned that applicants need to be aware of notario fraud and immigration scams that take their money and leave them with heartbreak and increased risk of deportation.

Where Are the DACA-mented DREAMers Today?

Since last summer, we have listened to and read about the success stories of DREAMers who applied to Deferred Action. Despite many DREAMers' limited finances, lack of access to information, and personal doubts and fears, hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth have applied to Deferred Action and are now pursuing their dreams. DREAMers are attending college (with access to in-state tuition rates in some states), using their work permit and Social Security number to make money and reach professional goals, and much more.

However, recently released Deferred Action application statistics (and today's monthly DACA report from USCIS) have shown that the program hasn't served young undocumented immigrants as effectively as originally hoped. Here's a brief summary of the year in DACA:

• Only about half (573,000) of the estimated 1.1 million currently eligible for DACA have applied, making the national application rate roughly 50%.
• 75% of the DACA applications received have been approved, about 1% were rejected, and the rest are pending.
• 75% of applicants have been in the U.S. for at least 10 years, with more applicants entering in 2000 than any other year.
• 33% of applicants were five or younger when they arrived in the U.S.
• 39% (423,000) of the 1.1 million potentially eligible for DACA are currently disqualified for not meeting the education requirement.
• 392,000 more young immigrants will become eligible for DACA once they reach the age requirement of 15 and stay enrolled in an educational program.
• Mexican and Central American immigrants make up 65% of the DACA-eligible population but accounted for 85% of DACA applicants.
• Immigrants from Asian countries such as the Philippines and China have some of the lowest application rates despite having substantial undocumented populations.
• 60% of those eligible speak both English and a second language "very well.
• 33% of the DACA-eligible live in households at or below the federal poverty level ($22,000/year for a family of 4.) Most of those who are technically above the poverty level still face extreme financial hardship.

If you have questions about Deferred Action , feel free to contact us or get connected on Facebook and Twitter.