In the past month a federal judge in Washington, D.C., stopped the justice department’s phaseout of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Even more rulings are pending across the country that legal analysts say could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
DACA allowed undocumented immigrant youth, known as Dreamers, to self-report their immigration status in exchange for temporary immunity from deportation and eligibility for services like financial aid.
One Citrus student with DACA status, theatre arts major Angelica Flores, described how difficult the application process is.
“You have to fill out a few forms — when I say a few I mean a lot,” Flores said. “It’s a lot of work with background checks and them making sure you have no criminal history.”
In May, a Dreamer in high school from Iowa was deported for low-level drug possession. He was murdered in Zacatecas, Mexico three weeks later.
Besides navigating the applications, the process requires fees. Flores said she paid $500 to re-apply for DACA.
“The money was one of the reasons, why I didn’t apply right away,” Flores said.
If she had waited over a month after the phaseout was announced, Flores would have lost her status. Due to the complexity of new rules, tens of thousands of Dreamers have lost immunity.
Although she said the process is difficult, it confers benefits, such as financial aid and job opportunities. Still Flores said she she tries to remain as “invisible as possible.”
“I grew up with the idea that my status was information that they could use against me,” Flores said.
Flores’ suspicion is a common reaction to the program that relies on the good faith of participants to self report.
Another DACA recipient at Citrus declined to be interviewed for this story.
Flores said that even with her access to a work permit with DACA, she feels better to have job that are not seen.
“But invisible jobs, means jobs that aren’t good,” Angelica Flores said.
Even Dreamers in good standing have reason for concern. Despite committing no crime, they have been deported.
“When I first came to Citrus back in 2016, more people came up to me confiding they were DACA students,” said ASCC president Fernando Flores. “This last club rush I didn’t have anyone come up to me. The fact they didn’t come up shows that they are paying attention and they’re keeping quiet.”
Dean of enrollment services Gerald Sequeira also said harsher immigration rules is causing “anxiety among students.”
“We don’t turn students away,” Sequeira said. “We welcome everyone and in terms of DACA students, we don’t track it.”
Article updated with spelling and grammar corrections.
Editor-in-chief James Duffy V contributed to this article.
