Why Apply? Undocumented Youth and Contextual Determinants of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Applications

• In Event: 242 - Section on International Migration Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Legal Status

Abstract

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provides temporary relief from deportation and legal work authorization for eligible undocumented youth in the U.S. The total number of applications submitted in the program’s first year represents just 32.5 percent of the estimated population of DACA-eligible youth and approximately 60 percent of those estimated to be immediately eligible. This article investigates factors that help or hinder undocumented youth in applying to DACA, drawing on data from 465,509 applications obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests. We focus on contexts of reception to understand the determinants of DACA applications, as studies of previous legalization programs indicate that communities helped to shape application decisions. Our analysis shows that more immigrant-serving organizations in a state translates into more applications, that DACA implementation rates are not statistically significantly lower in states with hostile policy climates, and that socio-economic factors are most significantly related to DACA applications. In identifying the collective factors that influence applying to DACA, we demonstrate that the structural opportunities and barriers present in receiving locales shape undocumented youths’ decisions to regularize and their resulting incorporation trajectories.

Authors

• Angela S. Garcia, University of California-San Diego

• Tom Wong, University of California-San Diego