You are unable to apply for a minimum wage paying job, and unable to apply for a license. The fear of being uprooted from the country you know as home and being deported is always in the back of your mind. Then the announcement of the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” is made, and you are overwhelmed with the mixed feelings of relief, excitement, and hope.
These are just a few of the emotions that are felt by hundreds of undocumented youth, across the U.S and here at De Anza College. On June 15, 2012 the U.S Department of Homeland Security announced that the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” policy was to be put into effect, and the accepting of applications would begin on August 15, 2012.
Undocumented 18-year-old De Anza student Mariana Navarro’s reaction to this announcement expressed her happiness about this life-changing event, “I cried when I first found out about it.”
The opportunities that are provided to undocumented youth under this new policy are access to work permits, the chance to obtain a license, and a two-year deferral from deportation, that is subject to renewal, according to the August 22, 2012 CNN report, “Driver’s license rules fuel new immigration debate”.
In order to be considered eligible, applicants must fit the criteria listed on dhs.gov, which are in summary: Under the age of 30, brought to the U.S before the age 16, currently in school, graduated high school, or obtained a GED, and have not been convicted with a felony or significant misdemeanor.
The Deferred Action does not provide full citizenship to qualifiers, as quoted from Obama in the August 17, 2012 CNN article, “Undocumented immigrants line up for relief from deportation”, “This is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stop gap measure.”
20-year-old Karla Navarro, an undocumented student at De Anza who has lived in the U.S for fifteen years, views the Deferred Action as the beginning of change, stating, “It’s one step closer”. Besides the physical freedom, Navarro also sees the mental freedom that this policy provides, “As an undocumented we have lived our life fearing” Navarro said, “The Deferred Action, it brings us hope”.
Another undocumented student at De Anza perceives the Deferred Action as a way to finally allow undocumented students the feeling of belonging, “I value the same things Americans value… We feel like we should belong but we’re rejected.
The “Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals” does not bring permanent change, but to the undocumented students at De Anza it offers the promise of hope and opportunity, and provides them with the feeling that they are one step closer to calling this country home.
