Young immigrants full of optimism, nerves
It may not be the perfect situation but the possibility of gaining the right to legally work, drive and not worry about being deported for the next two years was enough to lure hundreds of people to line up outside World Relief ’s DuPage County offices in Wheaton on Friday afternoon.
“We came at 7:30” a.m.,” said Karina Trujilla, a high school senior from Chicago. “I just want to start college soon, get a job, a better future.”
In June, President Barack Obama announced that young people who have been in the U.S. the past five years and who were brought here before their 16th birthdays would be eligible for work permits and a deferred action on any deportation proceedings for two years.
But the paperwork to apply for the deferred action is plentiful, and scams are common, so World Relief held a Deferred Action Workshop with immigration lawyers and certified staff on hand to counsel would-be applicants. It was similar to an event that drew 11,000 eager applicants to Navy Pier earlier this month.
Antonio, a Carpentersville resident, said he’s hoping to expand his business, and thinks temporary legal status will help him get a driver’s license and other essentials.
“I want to get papers to work,” he said. “I’m a little bit nervous that I brought all the right information.”
He wasn’t the only nervous person in line.
“I am nervous,” said Deedee, born in Cameroon and now living in Skokie. “I’m especially nervous for the next election, and whether this is ever going to pass as a law. I’m very worried about that.”
While the policy out of the Obama administration buys the young immigrants time and allows them to work legally in the U.S., it is still un- clear what will happen when those two years are up. And if a new president is elected this November, immigration policies could change.
“I think they’re courageous,” said Emily Gray, executive director of World Relief DuPage. “This is a memorandum and not a law. We need good law and we don’t have it yet.”