The founder and leader of a prominent pro-illegal immigration nonprofit in Arizona is advising undocumented immigrants who qualify to hold off on applying for DACA.
DACA — short for “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,” the program created by former President Barack Obama with the help of former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano in 2012 — provides temporary protection to individuals (sometimes called “Dreamers”) who immigrated to the U.S. illegally under the age of 16, resided in the U.S. continuously from 2007 onward, and were 31 years or younger in June 2012.
Aliento founder and CEO Reyna Montoya, a DACA recipient herself, warned undocumented immigrants against taking the proper legal steps to remain in the country legally. Montoya offered the advice earlier this month on her nonprofit and personal social media pages.
“If you have never applied for DACA , and maybe you’re getting a little glimpse of hope of applying for DACA for the first time, we are highly encouraging you to not submit the application until you talk to a reputable immigration attorney,” said Montoya. “Right now there’s many attorneys that might not really be equipped or really understand what’s going on with this administration or they might not be familiar with DACA. There is always a risk of submitting this paperwork to the administration.”
Montoya’s advice likely stemmed from recent immigration enforcement actions that have resulted in the arrests and deportations of some DACA recipients. She did speak with ABC15 about the uncertainty of her status in August.
Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, issued a statement to the media clarifying that DACA doesn’t qualify as an automatic protection from deportation.
“Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportations,” said McLaughlin. “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime.”
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services say they are continuing to accept and process DACA renewal requests as well as initial requests, though they won’t process the later at this time.
In another video posted this week, Aliento advised illegal immigrants how to maneuver encounters with immigration enforcement.
Aliento’s community liaison, Ivette Sosa-Barraza, acknowledged in the advisory video that illegal immigrants do drive, even though they lack a license. (State law prohibits undocumented immigrants from having one). Sosa-Barraza advised undocumented immigrants to exercise their right to remain silent. Sosa-Barraza also advised illegal immigrants to avoid wearing or keeping identifiers of their workplace in their car.
“We know that not everyone might have a license, which can lead to more questions about your status,” said Sosa-Barraza. “You actually don’t have to answer any questions about your immigration status.”
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates there to be over one million individuals living in the U.S. that are eligible for DACA but never applied. There are around 500,000 individuals benefitting from DACA status currently.
DACA does not provide a direct pathway to citizenship. However, they may seek out the pathway available through a green card — lawful permanent residency — which is available through other means: marriage to a U.S. citizen, employment-based sponsorship, family-based immigration petitions and consular processing, and/or advanced parole and adjustment of status.
Although Aliento and other undocumented activists haven’t been successful in establishing a pathway to citizenship, they have been successful in securing other perks.
With the encouragement of Aliento, Arizona enshrined in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants into state law in 2022. This current administration may put a stop to it, however.
In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order ordering the attorney general to take action against states providing in-state tuition to undocumented students.
Aliento will be teaming up with the Mexican Consulate to host an education fair on Saturday in Phoenix. Others in attendance include the Arizona Center for Youth Resources and the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior.
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