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Some Dreamers Face Thursday Renewal Deadline

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Illinois News Connection

There's an important deadline this week for thousands of "Dreamers" across the state.

Thursday is the last day to apply for renewal under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, or DACA.
Laura Mendoza is with the Resurrection Project, a nonprofit helping immigrants in Illinois. She says if your permit expires between now and March 5th, you must apply to renew by the October 5 deadline.

She says since President Donald Trump took office and vowed to deport more immigrants, groups like hers have been flooded with questions. Many people who have been in the U.S. for years are worried they'll be sent back to a country they barely remember - but also worried about the DACA renewal process.
 
"Some people have actually chosen not to go forward with their renewal even though they were eligible to renew, and it's because of that fear - that fear of not knowing what the government is going to do with their information."

Many are worried about about how their information might be used by the federal government.

Mendoza urges immigrants and those who are supporting them to get advice about the DACA renewal process only from trusted sources. She says it's also important to stay informed and involved in the immigration debate.
 
"This is the time that we need to make sure that our politicians are passing legislation that would be law that, you know, wouldn't be able to be taken away like DACA was."

The Obama Administration launched DACA in 2012 to protect immigrants who came to the United States as children from deportation and to allow them to work or go to school. An estimated 800-thousand have benefited from DACA, including 42-thousand in Illinois.

 

Launched in 2008, the Illinois News Connection (INC) is part of a network of independent public interest state-based news services pioneered by Public News Service. Our mission is an informed and engaged citizenry making educated decisions in service to democracy; and our role is to inform, inspire, excite and sometimes reassure people in a constantly changing environment through reporting spans political, geographic and technical divides.

Phone: 888-891-9416 | Email: info@publicnewsservice.org
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