Young immigrants contributing more because of DACA

Friday, Aug. 01, 2014

MURRAY – August marks the two-year anniversary of the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has benefited more than 500,000 people.

DACA allows certain people who came to the United States as children without legal documentation, and meet several guidelines, to request that their deportation be delayed for two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization, but the program does not provide legal status. 

When DACA was enacted, Holy Cross Ministries in Utah immediately started workshops to guide people through the DACA process.

Among the hundreds of people Holy Cross Ministries has helped is Pablo (his name has been changed because of privacy concerns).

In 1997, Pablo’s mother brought him at the age of 11 from Mexico to the U.S. At first he wanted to go back to his home country because the language barrier, the culture and the customs were a real shock for him, he said. 

In a few months, however, he adapted and understood why his mother decided to bring the family to the U.S., he said. 

“She came first to earn some money to be able to go back for us. She brought us – me, my brother and my sister. Our lives changed; I went to school for the first time,” he said.

Their new life was one of living on the fringes. Without legal status, Pablo could not open a bank account; he used fake identities to get jobs, risking every day the possibility of being deported. Nevertheless, he attended college.

“It was really hard. I doubted every day if I should keep on going and educating myself, or if I just should go through life with no ambitions, just hiding and living in the shadows without any opportunities,” Pablo said.

When DACA was enacted, Pablo was volunteering at Holy Cross Ministries; he immediately applied and received the deferral.

“It [DACA] completely changed my life. It gave me more opportunity and opened the doors,” he said. 

As the only member of his family to have graduated from college, Pablo now urges other young people to attend college because, he says, education will change their lives and the lives of those around them.

“I think that a lot of young people do not understand the value of education, especially people who are in the position that I was,” he said. “I am first of my entire family that goes to college. … It was hard and it has been very difficult. Sometimes I have thought ‘Why not just keep a job and just hang out? Don’t have any ambitions. Don’t get an education; I am not going to be able to used it.’ … But then DACA came out and I changed. … Now I have this degree and I have DACA.”

A recent survey of DACA participants shows that 61 percent have obtained a new job, 54 percent opened their first bank account and 38 percent obtained their first credit card.

“These results show that recipients are putting their benefits to use,” said Holy Cross Sister Suzanne Brennan, president and executive director of Holy Cross Ministries. “As comprehensive immigration reform continues to be a major national issue, Holy Cross Ministries will continue to work hard at the local level to provide high-quality legal immigration services, assist families on their path to legal residency in the United States and advocate for the immigrant families we serve.”