Undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children may soon be able to start applying again for DACA — the Obama-era program that provides temporary protection from deportation and a work permit.
First-time applicants have been blocked by a yearslong lawsuit led by Texas that argues the program harms states.
An appeals court ruled to uphold that block but only in Texas. Now, the original judge there must outline next steps. In its latest court filing, the Department of Justice says it will begin processing new applications again once that happens.
Reyna Montoya, a DACA recipient who leads the immigrant advocacy group Aliento, says she’s received text messages from students and other young people who have questions about what the court filing means.
“It's definitely a roller coaster of emotions right now,” Montoya said. “It becomes very technical right? What happened was a recommendation, but that doesn't mean it's the final order … so definitely people are feeling very confused.”
Some 100,000 first-time DACA hopefuls have had their applications stuck in processing with the federal government for the last several years because of the ban. Montoya says the future for those applicants is still unclear.
“It’s really hard being a DACA recipient or someone that’s applying for the first time, or who got stuck, because then you feel like it’s this hot and cold relationship,” Montoya said.
In an interview with "Meet the Press" just before entering office, President Donald Trump said he wanted to find a legislative solution for DACA recipients. But, so far this year, many recipients have been detained and some are facing deportation. Montoya says those factors make the Department of Justice’s latest court filing harder to trust.
“Then, I'm hearing all these ads on TV and the radio saying that we should self deport,” she said. “I think it becomes very confusing as someone who is directly impacted, as someone who is trying to do the best to contribute to this country — even though it seems like positive news, is it actually going to follow through? Or are they going to utilize that information to target us and potentially deport us?”
Montoya says Aliento is encouraging DACA hopefuls to wait to hear more information and work with trusted attorneys to avoid issues like scams.
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