By Laura Vazquez, Legislative Analyst, Immigration Policy Project, NCLR
I recently had the opportunity to volunteer with the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), a Washington, DC NCLR Affiliate, as they hosted a screening workshop to review documents and answer questions from young people to determine their eligibility for the brand new deferred action policy for undocumented youth.
After months of advocating for what the policy and process should look like, it was incredible to see a room full of people eager to see if they are eligible for this temporary relief from deportation. When I arrived at CARECEN on Saturday morning, there was a line of people waiting to enter the full waiting room inside. CARECEN ran a very orderly registration, and the young people, many of whom came with their parents and siblings, were given a number and signed in so they could talk to volunteers who had been trained on the policy. People were anxious to see if they qualified and had the necessary documents to move to the next step: completing the application forms. One of the staff members of CARECEN said that the first people in line had arrived at 5:30 a.m.! The interest level was expected because CARECEN had been hosting informational sessions leading up to the screening workshop, and across the country there were reports of community-based organizations with packed events at their offices, as well.
Nearly 12,000 DREAMers filled Chicago's Navy Pier to apply for the new immigration program.
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I first talked with a girl who was accompanied by her mother. She had a huge three-ring binder with Winnie the Pooh on the cover that contained lots of documents to prove her presence in the U.S., neatly divided by tabs indicating each year. The papers demonstrated year after year of schooling and growing up in this country. She and her mother flipped from one sheet of paper to the next, eagerly pointing out the documents that fulfilled the requirements.
I also met three teenage siblings and their mother. Each one of the kids had a folder with her first name on it and neatly organized papers inside. As we went through the papers of each one, the others waited patiently and followed every detail as we checked off the documents that fulfilled the criteria. As the oldest showed me her diploma from her recent high school graduation, she beamed with pride when I congratulated her and checked the box for high school diploma on the list of documents to prove she met one of the requirements to request deferred action.
These young people will have new opportunities available to them for the first time. They will be able to continue to contribute to their communities, continue their studies, and work toward their dreams. They are the reason why we need to continue to advocate for a permanent solution so that they can become citizens and contribute to our economic and social prosperity.