About 350,000 more illegal immigrants than previously thought could
earn an extra two years in the U.S. when President Barack Obama’s new
policy takes effect next week, according to the Migration Policy
Institute.
Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program,
students age 30 or younger who are enrolled in school on the day they
apply will now be eligible for a two-year reprieve from deportation if
they demonstrate that they came to the U.S. before their 16th birthday;
lived there for the past five years; and have not been convicted of
certain crimes or pose a national security threat.
Before the new rule was announced last week, the program was slated
to be open to students enrolled in school as of June 15, 2012, or those
who have graduated high school, received a GED or honorably left the
armed services, including the Coast Guard.
Obama’s policy takes
effect Aug. 15, and the government will begin accepting applications for
deferral that same day. The application includes a fee of $465 used to
fund the program, though exemptions will be provided for minors,
homeless youth and youth with chronic disabilities that fall below 150
percent of the U.S. poverty level.
Applicants who are denied
deferral will not have the option to appeal. Those approved will be able
to separately apply for work authorization in the U.S.
The
institute estimated in June that 1.4 million unauthorized immigrants
could benefit from the program. Those estimates only included students
who were enrolled in school as of that date. Speaking Tuesday at a panel
at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Doris Meissner, Director of
the institute’s U.S. Immigration Policy Program, said as many as 1.76
million people could be eligible, based on new guidance the Homeland
Security Department released Friday.
Jeanne Batalova, an author of
the report, said the program is “a powerful incentive to go back to
school” for young people who previously were not continuing their
education.
Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, emphasized that the program only serves to delay
deportation for successful applicants, without excusing “past unlawful
presence.”
“It does not provide a pathway to permanent residence or citizenship,” Mayorkas said.
The
Homeland Security Department previously said that it could need to hire
more than 1,400 full-time employees, as well as contractors, to handle
the requests coming in. Mayorkas said both the number of applications
and the pace at which they come in will determine how long it takes
service centers throughout the U.S. to process them.
“In other
words, will the agency experience a steady flow of volume from August
15th forward,” Mayorkas said. “Will people who wish to request deferred
action, will they file very quickly,” or will they wait to see the
outcome for other applicants.
Muzaffar Chishti, director of the
institute’s office at New York University’s School of Law, said
applicants’ early reaction to the program and confidentiality for them,
their families and their employers would be “very critical” for building
confidence among potential beneficiaries.
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