HOUSTON – Many recipients of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, are college students, including some who attend the University of Houston.
Now those that are eligible have less than a week to send in their renewal applications.
“Now I’m pursuing my legal degree. So I’m really excited. I’ve always wanted to go to law school,” said Ana Hernandez.
Hernandez was 3 years old when her mom brought her to the United States from her birth country of Mexico.
“My mother was 16 when she had me. My father was here in the United States and she was on her own and she just needed to, you know, she just needed to make a living,” Hernandez said.
That means she lived with the possibility of being deported for most of her life. In fact, she was about to be at age 19.
“But then the prosecutor got up and said, 'Oh, judge, we’re going to give her a prosecutorial discretion,' because DACA or at least the announcement of DACA, not even DACA, had just come out,” Hernandez said.
“The window for renewal application is very small,” said Zenobia Lai, legal director for the St. Francis Cabrini Center for Immigration Legal Assistance. They've been working with DACA-eligible immigrants since the program was created in 2012. Now the pressure is on to help those that can renew their status before DACA ends.
“It has to be received by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by Oct. 5, which means that you absolutely have to put that application in the mail by the 3rd," Lai said.
That could be especially difficult for those in the Houston area.
“For people who had lost a lot of things during Harvey, to come up with the money was a real challenge,” Lai said.
That's why, since the announcement, Catholic Charities has been holding several workshops a week to connect participants with financial aid and help with any missing documents.
“This is a need that we know is in the community. It would not be right for us to not respond,” Lai said.
“They’re planning their lives every two years at a time and every time they have to renew, they get a little scared and they get reminded they’re not like anybody else and they better do this process right,” Hernandez said.
If you or someone you know needs assistance with the renewal application or its fee, Catholic Charities has workshops Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday at its North Loop West office starting at 10 a.m. each day. If you'd like to help fund a renewal fee, reach out to Catholic Charities for more information.
