Thread: Illegal aliens in NY mostly shun deferral program that lets them work legally

Immigrants in NY mostly shun deferral program that lets them work legally

Deferred action is especially relevant because the immigration bill passed by the U.S. Senate last week would give qualifying young immigrants a faster path to citizenship. But, says NYLAG President Yisroel Schulman, ‘Young people with undocumented parents have been afraid to apply for DACA because they don’t want their parents to be discovered.’

By Erica Pearson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, June 30, 2013, 7:48 PM

Queens, N.Y., siblings Yessica Martinez, 20, and her brother Danillo Martinez, 17, applied for President Barack Obama's deferred action program giving young immigrants deportation reprieve and work permits. As a result, Yessica has a paid internship at Bank of America and Danillo has a summer job as a city lifeguard. 'This summer is a lot different from last summer,' Yessica Martinez said.

Fewer than 30% of eligible New Yorkers have taken advantage of a new initiative to give social security cards and work permits to young immigrants here illegally — and immigration advocates say many are not applying out of fear or because of the high federal paperwork fees.
U.S. officials have been accepting bids for the program — called deferred action for childhood arrivals, or DACA — since August, but the program has not gained traction.
“Young people with undocumented parents have been afraid to apply for DACA because they don’t want their parents to be discovered,” said New York Legal Assistance Group President Yisroel Schulman.
The applications cost $465 — and many immigrants have trouble piecing together the necessary paperwork from an undocumented life, said Jacki Esposito, director of immigration advocacy for the New York Immigration Coalition.
“Part of the problem in upstate New York is that people are absolutely terrified, because there’s a big mistrust of Border Patrol,” said Esposito.
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“It’s an individual choice [to apply] — we tell them the pros and the cons and they make the decision on their own.”
Deferred action is especially relevant because the immigration bill passed by the U.S. Senate last week — now facing a battle in the U.S. House of Representatives — would give the young immigrants who qualify for it a faster path to U.S. citizenship.
Many who have secured deferred action say it has changed their lives.
In 2012, Princeton University student Yessica Martinez, a 20-year-old Colombia native, was unable to work on the books because she was in the U.S. illegally. She volunteered for a nonprofit during summer break.
Now — with a work permit and social security card — the Corona, Queens, overachiever has a paid internship at Bank of America, doing equity research.
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Her 17-year-old brother Danilo also secured deferred action in time to get a summer job as a city lifeguard at a Queens pool.
“This summer is a lot different from last summer,” Yessica Martinez said.
There are currently about 1.26 million young immigrants like Martinez in the U.S. who potentially qualify — 110,000 of them in New York, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
But as of June 7, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had received 28,338 applications from New Yorkers and approved 18,308.
Local advocates are continuing major outreach efforts, trying to boost New York’s numbers. New York Immigration Coalition has held nearly 100 deferred action workshops across the state.
To help with costs, the group has also partnered with economic advocacy group New Economy Project and area credit unions to offer 12-month, no-interest loans to cover the application fee for New York City immigrants.
New York Legal Assistance Group is setting up workshops in city schools — holding 10 sessions so far at schools in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn. The group is planning more for the summer and fall.
epearson@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/immigrants-ny-shun-daca-article-1.1386654