Lilia Velasquez, an immigration and naturalization attorney and adjunct professor at California Western School of Law, and Lupe Sandoval, a student applying for work permit to stay in the U.S., talk to KPBS about the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
By Maureen Cavanaugh, Patty Lane
and Amita Sharma
Thousands of young illegal immigrants lined up Wednesday hoping for the right to work legally in America without being deported. The Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals could expand the rights of more than 1 million young illegal immigrants by giving them work permits, though they would not obtain legal residency here or a path to citizenship.
 Lupe Sandoval was in removal proceedings when she found out she is eligible for deferred action. |
At least 13,000 people stood in line in Chicago, clutching reams of paperwork, for a workshop led by immigrant rights advocates at the city’s Navy Pier. Hundreds of potential applicants waited outside nonprofit offices in Los Angeles for help filing paperwork to open the door to the staples of success in America – a work permit, and then later a Social Security number and driver’s license.
To be eligible for the federal program, immigrants must prove they arrived in the United States before they turned 16, are 30 or younger, have been living in the country at least five years and are in school or graduated or served in the military. They cannot have been convicted of certain crimes or otherwise pose a safety threat.
Initial concerns that federal authorities might take a tough approach on applications or that a Republican presidential victory could unravel applicants’ gains have largely been pushed aside by massive interest from thousands of young people eager to work.
In San Diego County, 20,000 were expected to apply. A coalition of immigrant-rights groups will host three workshops on Friday to provide help in filling out the application. They are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, Montgomery Middle School in the Linda Vista section of San Diego and Sweetwater High School in National City.