DACA deadline approaches this week
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients face an October 5 deadline to renew their status or potentially face deportation action by the Department of Homeland Security.
The race to the target date follows a Sept. 5 announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered by President Donald Trump.
Trump called for dismantling an immigration program which offered certain protections for young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. Trump allowed a six-month reprieve which means some DACA recipients could face deportation in early March.
Immigration supporters had hoped for an extension to allow time for hurricane victims in Texas, Louisiana and Florida to reapply.
“The October 5 deadline limits the number of people eligible to renew their status. It leaves a lot of DACA recipients vulnerable,” Adriana Abizadeh, Executive Director of The Latin American Legal Defense & Education Fund (LALDEF) in Trenton, said. “This (action) cuts off 76 percent of the approximately 800,000 DACA recipients from renewing their status.”
Abizadeh said approximately 23,000 New Jerseyans benefit from DACA although 17,000 can no longer reapply and must begin a countdown of their legal allotted time here.
“Which means about 6,000 can reapply for DACA. We are working to make sure that people know about the deadline,” Abizadeh noted.
Abizadeh said LALDEF uses numerous media and social media efforts to “make sure the community knows about the deadline.”
“We have waived the filing fee for individuals unable to pay,” she said.
DACA, implemented by former President Barack
Obama, allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors or remained in the country illegally, to receive a renewable two-year permit. Recipients were protected from deportation and gained eligibility for employment.
Meanwhile, authorities have increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in municipalities labeled as “sanctuary cities.”
ICE officials said Thursday that a four-day “Operation Safe City” initiative had collected more than 500 undocumented immigrants. A Philadelphia effort arrested 107 people. ICE alleged most were criminals and immigration
fugitives.
Abizadeh noted the October deadline matters but referenced the date as simply a mile marker in the long journey for immigration reform.
“We need Congress to take action, need (leaders) to pass a Dream Act as soon as possible,” Abizadeh explained. “Such legislation will allow individuals to stop living in limbo and not be concerned about what happens on March 5 when permits begin to expire.”