Overall, DACA is lifting hopes.Manny currently works the night shift at a hospital and is enrolled at a four-year university, where he takes classes during the day. She enrolled in a GED program to qualify for DACA and successfully passed the exam. In the workforce, they experienced a newfound access to more stable jobs with higher pay, better benefits, and less stressful working conditions. She left school during her junior year of high school. While congressional inaction has stalled the overhaul of immigration policy at the federal level, several states have taken steps to respond to questions of immigration. For these young people, the opportunities DACA has afforded them have resulted in a renewed hope, more concrete goals, and better performance at school and at work.Get the latest from the American Immigration Council in your inbox.Household financial struggles invariably impact available resources for college. At least 190 occupations require state licenses in some states, and 93 occupations are licensed in all states. Those receiving DACA while still in high school described an immediate change in their motivation; attending college and working in their dream fields had become a real option for them. Luis recalled:The distributions of both race/ethnicity and country of origin in the interview sample appear quite similar to the distributions in the survey sample. As Luis explained, “[DACA] instilled a new hope in me.
Immigrants represent a growing segment of the U.S. labor force. Many others, however, were fearful to seek help or were frustrated because the information they received was incomplete, inaccurate, or both.Many DACA beneficiaries have utilized their increased opportunities for post-secondary education and work authorization to obtain training for specialized vocations. With work authorization, college-going DACA beneficiaries were better able to meet their tuition needs while also balancing work and school responsibilities. "We’re going to need, I think, to confirm that, and I think we can anticipate that the administration may resist that interpretation of the Supreme Court’s holding," she said.Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, oversaw the establishment of DACA in 2012 as secretary of homeland security secretary under former president Obama. This state-level variation makes it extremely important that school counselors, teachers, and other academic advisors are aware of the opportunities and restrictions available to DACAmented youth in their state. On the other hand, many immigrants also fill jobs at high skill and educational levels. In particular, where one resides within the United States dramatically shapes a multitude of experiences based on local impediments and opportunities. Their work permits provide them the assurance that they will be competitive for employment in many of these industries after completion of the program.Once Layla, a 20-year-old DACA beneficiary from Illinois, received her work permit, she was able to find a job as a sales associate in a department store. He took a part-time job to earn money for his tuition and, instead of living in the dorms, stayed with his parents to save money. They must pay non-resident tuition in states that do not offer in-state rates—as in three of our six study states—making it more difficult to find ways to finance college.This level of optimism was particularly evident among our younger respondents.
Claudia had to leave the program. An additional 0.64 percent were ineligible for DACA due to other requirements, such as being above the 34-year-old age limit or traveling outside of the United States in the last five years.Importantly, then, DACAmented young people face different combinations of opportunities and barriers depending on the state where they live and on local community and school contexts. I can’t work in that field and I still have DACA.”New Evidence from the National UnDACAmented Research ProjectImportantly, then, DACAmented young people face different combinations of opportunities and barriers depending on the state where they live and on local community and school contexts. They now have to decide whether the benefits of applying are worth the risk of giving their personal information to the government and revealing their status as undocumented immigrants.Ur Jaddou, the director of the watchdog group DHS Watch and former general counsel at USCIS, said during a recent press conference organized by the pro-immigration advocacy group America's Voice that the furloughs could result in the agency halting the processing of all DACA applications, renewals as well as new applications. Some DACA beneficiaries view these programs as stepping stones to a four-year program. Today, nearly 30 percent of all jobs require a license. This uneven geography of local enforcement and educational access demonstrates that today, perhaps more so than ever before, where one resides within the United States dramatically shapes a multitude of experiences based on local impediments and opportunities.Eric, who grew up in Georgia, was distraught when he realized that, despite meeting the GPA requirement, he was not eligible to apply for a private scholarship that would have covered 90 percent of residency tuition.