On Being DACAMENTED

“To be or not to be, that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them: to die, to sleep no more; and by a sleep, to say we end heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to?….”

To say that this is an interesting transition is an understatement. For the last couple of months, I’ve seen others enthusiastically share pictures and updates as they got approved for work permits, ID’s and driver’s licenses. I’m no stranger to over sharing myself, and had I been in this situation a few years ago, I would have done the same thing. It’s a major transition for anyone that goes through it. Going from undocumented to being quasi-documented.

I would joke with friends about having a work permit party once I was approved, because the idea of throwing a party to acknowledge this transition is hilarious to me. Like throwing a pet a birthday party. But there’s no fan fare here. No facebook post, instagram picture (sort of) or semi-emotional status update in which I make a hollow vow to continue fighting for others and/or my family so they can have the same opportunities I have.

Where was I on June 15th?

I'm gathering my paper work for Deferred Action little by little and when I started thinking about what I was doing on June 15th when the announcement was made, I remembered I was on my way home to shower and change clothes caused I got drunk the night before hahahah. I saw the tweet about the announcement as I was getting on the bus that very morning at 7 am.

Course I was also out and about later on in the day because there was a rally planned the same day the DACA announcement just happened to be made.  I had the privilege of having my presence on June 15th be recorded by news media who interviewed me on the announcement and my thoughts on it. And I do mean privilege because not everyone is in a position to be hit up for interviews at the drop of a hat, have the opportunity to have their voice heard, to represent to a certain extent my peers and to have something tangible to prove my presence that day. 

First there's this Southern California Public Radio recording of me being talking over the phone, giving my thoughts right off the top of my head as an action was going on. I come in at 7:28. The second piece came later in the day via a phone interview I did with a reporter for the Huffington Post, which you can read here.

As I'm putting all this paper work together and I realize that putting my life out on blast the last few years is paying off in unexpected ways. My cyber life may very well help me prove my continued presence in the US to the government. It also makes me think about how things will work out once the person going over my application sees that I'm a quasi-celebrity/high profile person within the dream movement. Will that influence that application process for the better or for worse?

Step by step for applying for DACA

For anyone applying for Deferred Action, read through the step by step guide that Educators for Fair Consideration have created. The guide, which can be found here, and it provides an excellent breakdown on the process and helps answers numerous questions that most folks have when starting to fill out their application.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Applications

There are the forms needed to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. With that being said, Educators for Fair Consideration have an amazing step by step guide to helps folks as they apply for this process.

If you're reading this and thinking of applying, do so with time and ease. USCIS is only going to give folks a one time shot at applying, and if for whatever reason, your application doesn't go through, there won't be any second chances or appeals.

Remember to only trust attorneys that are recommended to you by trust worthy people. Don't pay for these services without seeing if you can do it for free, and if you do have to pay, be sure to keep track of everything. Forms after the jump.

Just providing a service

The majority of folks just want help getting theirs, which I can understand. Within the circles I'm in doing this kind of work, all across the board, most of the non-profits are gearing up to help folks with their applications. Some are charging to cover the over head cost and others are totally doing it for free. What remains to be seen is where things will fall after the elections and once the first wave of folks apply and get through. It's all new territory and anything can and will happen.

Lawyers Grifting Deferred Action

To be honest, I never really gave much thought on all the fucking shark lawyers and notaries were  coming outta the woodwork when the Deferred Action announcement was made. Folks were being warned left and right that they shouldn't be paying anyone to help them fill out an application that is yet to exist. That getting help from these asses could end up hurting someone in the long run.

Well now that I'm seeing more and more of these charlatans pop up everywhere, I found this Benouis firm on a facebook ad, and it really pisses me off. Like, to the point that I'm just going about my normal internet browsing and I see these fuckers trying to post up their shit on group pages and what not. They all have some stupid name that throws the words "Dream Act" and "deferred action" in there to get anyones attention.

All of this stuff hasn't really hit yet, but seeing all these putos trying to make money got the ball rolling. But that just goes to show you that I wasn't ready for everything that is to come. Because of the personal investment I have in all this work, just like all the other dreamers, it catches you off guard and you wanna make sure that no one gets taken advantage of. We've all heard countless stories of lawyers and notaries robbing people outta thousands of dollars and never helping them or just making things worse.

It can't be helped. There's approximately 1 one million plus dreamers that are going to be applying and going through this system. Not all of us have access to resources, connections or support to get the paper work done, cover the application fees and get help in case things take a turn for the worse. There are going to be folks who are going to get robbed and who are going to end up getting into deeper problems because they got grifted. And I can't help feel some responsibility for that.

Details on Deferred Action Guidelines

Click to Embiggen 

Seems everyone is getting into flow charts and visuals as of late with all the deferred action stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love it since I'm a visual learner myself. Anyway, Deferred Action, USCIS and the announcement made today about the guidelines. This is the announcement everyone was waiting for, the nitty gritty details on qualifying for deferred action and work permits.

Even some of my concerns were answered with this newest update, but, bottom line is that deferred action is not a law. It's not mandated by anyone to the point of everyone in the government having to comply, at its core, it's still up to the discretion of the individuals on the ground, doing the paper work, bossing those that do the paper work etc.

Deferred Action only benefits "good immigrants' who don't have any kind of criminal record, are staying outta trouble by staying in school and aren't on the radar of ICE. This means that most dreamers are going to qualify for this, but it still leaves out folks who are too old or those of use who had run ins with the law, along with our parents.

At best, whoever comes after Obama, they can decide to end it or keep. Ultimately, nothing has changed but everything has, you feel me? But don't get it twisted, I'll be getting my work permit and paying my $500 just like everyone else. And in true fashion, mainstream media has decided to focus on the cost of the permit and spinning it to look like anyone who is undoc can get a work permit for $500.

Conf Call to answer questions RE: Deferred Action

Educators for Fair Consideration is hosting a national conference call this Thursday, June 21st, at 5 pm to answer questions from folks. E4FC is an amazing organization that already helps dreamers with free legal advice and clinics and in stopping deportations. If you have any questions, RSVP and have them answered by an immigration lawyer, don't go spending your money some where else and possibly get the wrong info.

Undocumented & Permitted

If you haven't heard the news by now, on Friday June 15th the Obama administration announced that there will be new deferred action for immigrant youth who more or less fall under the umbrella of the Federal Dream Act. If you wanna read about the specifics on who and how one qualifies, follow this link to the DHS press release. As soon as the announcement was made, folks started going nuts over the news, and why shouldn't they.

I got the news myself via tweets at seven am about the announcement, I was on my way home on the bus cause I had a few drinks the night before and crashed at a friends house. At the same time, there was an action already planned for that morning at the Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda, so things were moving fast. Not to mention that earlier this week that movie I was a part of premiered, Time magazine put out their latest issue with Dreamers and Jose Antonia Vargas on the cover, the dream movement was getting mad attention. Media was hunting us down all day for interviews, pictures, interviews etc. to get our reaction on what happened. I even ended up on live radio while the action at the detention center was still going on.