Activist: Arizonans 'Anxious' To Apply For Restored DACA Program

Published: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 - 8:07am
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Matthew Casey/KJZZ
Karina Ruiz, executive director of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has given the Trump administration 90 days to explain why the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is illegal. Otherwise, the government will have to start taking new applicants.

If DACA is fully reopened, undocumented people seeking to avoid deportation and get a work permit will have to share their personal information with the government. It means exposing themselves and possibly family members to immigration authorities.

“I do believe that the risk of giving the government the information is definitely worth it, in exchange for that protection, even though it’s temporary,” said Karina Ruiz, executive director of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, and a DACA recipient. “People have been calling me. ‘What is this about?’ They’re anxious to get their paperwork ready."

Court orders in other cases have forced the government to keep renewing DACA permits. Ruiz said the legal victories have helped, but Congress needs to find a permanent solution.  

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