Arizona Activists Launch Weekend DACA Renewal Workshops

September 29, 2017

Local activists are making a final push to help people renew their DACA status ahead of the Oct. 5 deadline.

The Trump administration announced at the beginning of September that it will start phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program next year.

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Local groups are hosting free DACA workshops this weekend at locations near 19th Avenue and Osborn Road, and near 51st Avenue and Campbell Avenue. They offer scholarships to cover the roughly $500 renewal fee, access to lawyers and help filling out paperwork.

A person’s DACA status has to expire between Sept. 5 of this year and March 5, 2018 to be eligible for a two-year renewal, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS. People whose DACA status expired on or before Sept. 4, and did not request a renewal by then, can no longer file for one. The government will also no longer process first-time DACA applications.

To be considered, renewal applications have to be “properly filed and physically received” no later than Oct. 5, according to USCIS.