Illegals find productive way to stay
JORGE BRAVO left Ecuador when he was 14 and spent his high school and college years in Woodhaven, Queens, with a secret — he was undocumented. But after getting a work permit through a special program for young immigrants, Bravo found that some employers now see his struggle as a benefit.
A growing number of employers — including national nonprofit Teach for America and a North Carolina-based bank — are seeking diverse workers by specifically recruiting immigrants who came here illegally as kids and got permission to work through a 2012 federal program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Bravo, 26, was accepted by Teach for America and will be assigned to a Los Angeles classroom this fall.
“The biggest gift and the biggest thing I have to give back is that I can show students who may be in a similar situation that if I can do it, they can do it too,” he said.
Teach for America — which places recent college graduates at low-income urban or rural schools for at least two-year stints — now lists deferred-action status on its website as one way to meet eligibility requirements.
The organization has already accepted 30 applicants for 2014 with the status.
“It’s just an incredible opportunity for our country,” said co-CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard.
Deferred Action provides a work permit and Social Security number to eligible youth but must be renewed every two years. More than 560,000 have received it, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Villanueva Beard said her organization decided to reach out specifically to deferred-action recipients because it fits with their philosophy to boost young people’s access and equity.
On a practical level, the move helps them diversify their membership.
“When Teach for America announced that DACA recipients could apply, it was automatic, I got all my statements and my paperwork ready and I submitted,” said University of California, Irvine graduate Jacky Acosta, 25, who came to the U.S. from Mexico as a newborn and was undocumented until getting deferred action in 2013.
Teach for America accepted both Acosta and her older brother, Angel, who also has deferred action. The siblings are set to teach in Los Angeles this summer. Adam Luna, director of Own the Dream, an organization that works to help young immigrants apply and take advantage of deferred action, said BB&T Bank also has a career recruitment program for young immigrants.