Uncertainty about an Obama-era amnesty program for younger illegal immigrants has driven an unusually large number to reregister, which appears to be easy to do since less than one in 10 is rejected, according to new federal data.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency has reported that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program now has an estimated 699,350 active participants, with most from Mexico.
President Trump tried to eliminate the program but was blocked by federal judges. The administration is now hoping for a positive Supreme Court decision. The program delays deportation proceedings for two years and offers a pathway to work for illegal immigrants brought into the United States as youths. Their average age is 25.
A new analysis of the data by the Center for Immigration Studies said the sharp renewal uptick was unusual this year.
Since it is a two-year process, typically the applications for DACA are high one year, then low the following year. Typically, according to past patterns, 2018 would have been a “valley” year but it appears that concern the program will be killed prompted a surge in renewals and new applications.
What’s more, very few applicants are ever rejected. This year, 96.3 percent were approved.
Here is how CIS described it:
But something interesting clearly occurred in FY 2018. This should have been another valley year where there were few approvals. Instead, there was clearly a jump. Why would this be?
The answer is quite simple. In the chaos since September 2017 (Trump’s DACA-ending announcement), activist groups encouraged all DACA recipients to renew their status. The uptick in approvals reflects the many DACA recipients who were unaware of the program’s future and rushed to renew their status.
