The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy announced on June 15, 2012, comes at the perfect time for the many eligible undocumented people in North Carolina.  President Obama issued the policy granting work authorization for a period of two years for individuals based on specific qualifications. The qualifications include age of entry, criminal record, education status, and a five year residence in the U.S.

According to research released in August 2012 by the Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, there are 50,000 undocumented people who meet the qualifications in North Carolina. Many of these people will now be able to apply jobs legally, social security numbers, and driver’s and professional licenses.  

Josias is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington set to graduate this May with business degrees in Accounting and Management Information Systems. The DACA policy allows him to competitively apply for the same internships and jobs as his peers.

“It doesn’t matter where you are from. If you are the best for a job you are going to get hired.” Josias said.

As an undocumented student, he has had to pay out-of-state tuition despite living in North Carolina for more than five years. In addition, he does not qualify for any type of federal or state financial aid. To attend UNC-Wilmington, he has had to apply for numerous scholarships as well as work construction during school breaks.

As the Director of Centro Hispano at UNC-Wilmington, Dr. Edelmira Segovia, Ed. D, has witnessed the increase of Hispanic resident applicants to the University. However, the number of nonresident students applying has always remained low. Mainly because any non-resident student applying to a North Carolina two or four year institution will have to pay out of state tuition. This policy gives hope to the many graduates or graduates to be that would otherwise not have the chance to work legally in the US.

 “I expect [nonresident] students will regain a sense of hope for a positive future… many very talented students, who stopped their education once they graduated from high school, will at least consider furthering their education.” said Segovia.

The overall sentiment on the DACA policy is one of hope for the future. However there are still many who have reservations on the effectiveness of the policy.

“I feel like a trick. A government trick. There is a certain way the government can get a certain amount of money out of illegal people.” said Secondino, the father of two children eligible for deferred action. He has lived in the U.S. over 22 years, working agricultural and maintenance jobs. Although he views this policy as a positive step for his children, it is still not enough.

When asked about how the policy will affect admissions at UNC-Wilmington, Marcio Moreno, Assistant Director for Admissions, said “We all want to believe that we will receive more applications and will admit more students. However, we have to remember that these students will still have to pay out-of-student tuition. In this sense, the situation has not changed much.”

The most recent numbers indicate that only 72,000 applicants out of the 1.76 million possible applied when the policy opened for applications on August, 15, 2012.

Although this number is sure to change, an informational session hosted by Centro Hispano for the Wilmington community, Jeffery Widdison commented, “The first cases have already been approved. They [Department of Homeland Security] overstaffed the offices. They thought more people would apply.” Jeffery, a Wilmington attorney, is one of only twenty NC Board Certified Immigration Law Specialists.

Furthermore, the policy is open to interpretation in various locations, especially in what qualifies as a “significant misdemeanor,” which would disqualify an applicant from receiving benefits. There is no appeals process to the policy. If an applicant is denied once, there is not a second chance. Helen Jugovic, another local certified immigration law specialist, said “These laws are not black and white. They are discretionary choices by officials.”

There is no doubt that this policy has a positive effect on the futures of the many eligible youth. However, there is still a lot of caution in the air among both eligible undocumented people and immigration lawyers. At the end of his interview, Secondino said “I feel kind of excited because it is a little bit of help. The students will not have the same feeling they had before. Still. Still. There is going to be a lot of work that has to be done”

*Some names have been changed to protect privacy.