The Benefits Of Deferred Action Or DACA

By Anita Ortega


In any country, illegal immigrants are not welcome. While most governments simply prosecute and deport illegal aliens back to their countries, US law is a little bit different. Legislators have given the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prosecutorial discretion when it comes to handling issues concerning illegal immigrants. Through DACA, the DHS can either deport an illegal immigrant immediately or defer the removal action to a later date.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, as the name suggests is only for aliens who migrated to the US illegally in their childhood. Generally, anyone who sneaked their way into the country before their 16th birthday can apply for deferred action. However, there are several other requirements that must be satisfied.

This law favors aliens who sneaked into the country before 15th June, 2012, when this law came into existence. Potential candidates must have lived in the country for a period not less than 5 years since their arrival. A clean criminal record and remarkable behaviour in school are two of the most important things that federal authorities usually consider when processing applications.

Deferred action is meant for individuals who are in school, graduated high school or obtained their GED during their stay in the country. School dropouts cannot have their removal action deferred. Those who went to the United States to pursue their studies after obtaining a Student Visa can also apply for deferred action if they continued to reside in the country after their visas expired.

Applicants who had their deferred action request accepted are usually given temporary residency. This however should not be mistaken for permanent residency or citizenship since the responsible authorities can revoke the new status at any time. A revocation can be triggered by discovery of fraud in the application and criminal activity among other things.

Before even applying for a deferral, a background check is needed to ensure that a person does not pose a health or security threat. If a person is involved in crimes like marriage fraud, voter fraud, guilty of a felony or involvement in different misdemeanors, he or she will not qualify for this program. Before clearing an applicant, DHS normally runs a criminal background check on every applicant.

There are several documents that must be provided by the applicant to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. These include; a birth certificate, identity card from the country of origin, proof of residency in the country, proof of date of entry into the United States, proof of age and school transcripts among other things. The USCIS may ask for any other document it may deem necessary.

The Dream Act is what gave rise to this program. It has as many supporters as critics from both sides of the legislature. The law is not an entitlement, so the DHS and USCIS can deport any illegal immigrant at any time. It is simply a prosecutorial discretion power wielded by DHS and USCIS. The downside with this law is that anyone who has reached 35 years and meets all the other requirements cannot qualify for this law.




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