Josefina Espino, a program specialist at the DREAMer Resource Office at California State University San Marcos, saw one of her team members in tears. Counselors at the office had been helping undocumented students prepare their first applications for DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects people who came to the U.S. as children from deportation. Then the Trump administration released new restrictions to the DACA program.
On July 28, acting homeland security secretary, Chad Wolf, announced in a memo that all new applications for DACA would be rejected, and pending applications would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Also, instead of allowing DACA recipients to renew their status every two years, they would now need to renew annually. Advance parole will only be granted in “exceptional circumstances.”
Amid a review, “I have concluded that the DACA policy, at a minimum, presents serious policy concerns that may warrant its full rescission,” Wolf wrote. “At the same time, I have concluded that fully rescinding the policy would be a significant administration decision that warrants additional careful consideration.”
These restrictions come on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that blocked the Trump administration’s 2017 bid to end the Obama-era program, a moment of relief for DACA recipients and their advocates.
Now, the new changes are eliciting a mix of reactions among Espino’s students. While some remain “hopeful” for the program, undocumented students prepping their DACA materials were “devastated,” as were the staff members who work with them.
“It’s just hard,” she said. “Because you do have those people in mind that you were so excited for. They’re applying, they’re gathering all of their documentation, they’re getting ready to submit – and then they can’t.”
Meanwhile, her team is trying to guide DACA and undocumented students through a shifting legal landscape, all amid COVID-19. The office offers legal services and workshops on immigrant rights, but some students haven’t been able to make it because of internet connectivity problems. They’re also overwhelmed by emails from the university, she said, as the fall semester approaches.
