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.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was introduced in the US so as to solve the issue of illegal immigrants who entered the country when they were still young. Aliens who found their way into the country before they reached age 16 are eligible to apply for a deferral of removal action. This however comes with many conditions that must be fulfilled before the request to be taken into consideration.

To quality for this rule, a person must have arrived in the country before this law was created; that's on 15th June 2012. Candidates must have also resided in the country continuously for at least 5 years after arrival. Only persons with good moral standing can apply for deferral of removal action. A criminal record automatically disqualifies a candidate from this rule.

Educational qualifications usually carry a lot of weight, and school dropouts cannot apply since deferred action is only applicable to school-going applicants, high school graduates or those with GED. Those who applied for Student Visa to study in the United States, can also apply for deferred action. This condition works if only they have been living continuously in the country even after visa expiration.

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.

Deferral of removal action is only authorized if the applicant does not pose any health or security risk to the public. Unlawful voting, voter fraud, marital fraud, felony conviction, or three misdemeanors can disqualify a person from this rule. The DHS normally runs a thorough background check to ensure that applicants do not pose a national security risk.

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.

This program came into being through the Dream Act, which had substantial number of critics and supporters from both houses. This law is not a right, and it gives the USCIS and DHS more power to deport an illegal immigrant with immediate effect if any of the requirements have not been met. One limitation of this law is that an applicant has to be less than 35 years of age to qualify. This is in addition to all the other conditions.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...