![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hrionline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/10-years-of-DACA-1-300x300.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
DACA, which protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, was enacted on June 15, 2012, by President Barack Obama. As DACA celebrates 10 years of bringing safety to young migrants all across the United States, HRI is proud to share story of our dedicated Crime Victim’s\u00a0Case\u00a0Manager, Naomi Rios, a DACA recipient:<\/p>\n
\u201cFor nine years out of the 10 years DACA has existed, I have been a DACA recipient. I am grateful for DACA because I am legally authorized to work, I hold a driver\u2019s license, and I received higher education. But although I am grateful for it, DACA must expand to a pathway to citizenship because thousands of talented, creative, qualified, and educated individuals are hindered by legal status requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was only 2 years old when my parents brought me along as they immigrated to the United States to seek a safer life. Being young and unaware of documentation concerns, I attended elementary school and middle school without concerns about my legal status. It wasn’t until I started high school, when I quickly noticed my upperclassman peers were student drivers or had already obtained a driver\u2019s license. In that moment, I questioned my own ability to obtain a driver’s license and realized how truly complicated my documentation status was. I couldn’t do the same things my peers could, whether it was traveling to Mexico or overseas, obtaining a driver\u2019s license, attending college, or getting a job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2013 at the age of 15, I was granted my initial deferred action and employment authorization document (EAD) with legal representation from Catholic Charities Dallas. I quickly applied for a\u00a0social security number\u00a0which was both intimidating and surreal. I was so excited to apply for jobs and obtain a driver\u2019s license, a true blessing to me!<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a first-generation migrant student and graduate, I navigated higher education on my own and learned that I qualified for in-state tuition.\u00a0Even for me, who felt so blessed,\u00a0navigating institutions\u00a0(especially higher education)\u00a0was intimidating and sometimes\u00a0further<\/s> tedious\u00a0because of the extra hoops I had to\u00a0jump through\u00a0. I am now proud to say I am a first-generation graduate with three degrees: an Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Social Work, and Master of Social Work.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year in 2021, I submitted Form I-821D, Form I-765, and Form I-765WS, all on my own, to renew my DACA status. On Form I-765WS , I had to explain my \u201ceconomic need to work\u201d so I wrote the following:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am applying for the renewal of my employment authorization to continue to work as a Case Worker for Dallas County. In addition, I am currently a graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. I am to graduate with my Master of Social work (MSW) on August 19, 2021. I plan to get my licensure at the master level to become an LMSW. I want to continue to work in human services and make an impact in my community. A renewal of my employment authorization will me to work as a social worker and provide for my family.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cI am privileged that my application was approved once again, and I was saddened for those first-time appliers as attacks on DACA debilitated the system. I am\u00a0grateful for the work opportunities I have had and for my current position as Crime Victims Program Case Manager at\u00a0HRI. I dreamed of helping the Latine and immigrant community\u00a0in\u00a0some capacity,\u00a0which I now have the honor and privilege to do\u00a0because I am a DACA recipient. I plan to continue pursuing my goal of becoming a licensed social worker and being a provider\u00a0for\u00a0my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
At HRI we believe that Immigrant Rights Are Human Rights, Asylum is legal, and we must nurture and protect our DACA Dreamers. Refugees and immigrants are crucial to our economy, and by creating legal pathways to residency and citizenship, we can ensure safety for our migrant community. Dreamers like Naomi are our future, and the future is present at HRI.<\/p>\n
#DACA #Dreamers #ImmigrantRightsAreHumanRights #WelcomeWithDignity<\/p>\n
The post DACA: A Decade of Dreamers<\/a> appeared first on Human Rights Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
This post was originally published on Blog - Human Rights Initiative<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DACA, which protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, was enacted on June 15, 2012, by President Barack Obama. As DACA celebrates 10 years of bringing safety to young migrants all across the United States, HRI is proud to share story of our dedicated Crime Victim\u2019s\u00a0Case\u00a0Manager, … <\/p>\n
Read More<\/a><\/div>\nThe post DACA: A Decade of Dreamers<\/a> appeared first on Human Rights Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4875,6,1383,1509],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714393"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":719650,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714393\/revisions\/719650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}