About two dozen attendees trickled into La Casa del Inmigrante on Thursday evening to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the passage of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Organizers brought a birthday cake, decorated with the phrase “Happy DACAversary,” and served a buffet of beans and rice.

But despite being pegged as a celebration, the majority of the time was focused on educating attendees on other pathways toward legal residency, especially now that DACA — which grants some immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children a work permit and protection from deportation — continues to face multiple court challenges.  

Since 2021, the program has been prohibited from processing new applications, and currently faces court challenges in seven states. 

A new set of Biden administration policies may provide more stable avenues towards legal residency. On Monday, applications open for a “parole-in-place” program which offers protections to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens. President Joe Biden also announced a plan in June to grant expedited visas to DACA recipients who have earned a degree at a U.S. institution of higher education.

One message was clear for attendees of Thursday’s event — Nevada’s population of about 11,000 DACA recipients may need to start looking at other programs to ensure their continued legal residency.

“This is a great opportunity to get out of the undocumented world into that documented world,” said Kathia Quiros, a Las Vegas-based immigration lawyer. “Our goal is to move them from DACA into other visas so they can stop being undocumented.”

Current challenges with DACA

Quiros says that these new policies mean that approved DACA applicants will no longer be dependent on the program for work visas, which are stuck in legal limbo. For the first time, some will be able to receive employer-sponsored work visas, opening up the door for a potential green card or permanent lawful residency. 

Although DACA beneficiaries are eligible for work permits, they must reapply every two years for protections and have reported facing incredibly lengthy processing delays — an issue over which Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) has raised concern. 

Up until now, it's been incredibly difficult for undocumented immigrants to obtain official work visas, which grants them legal residency. To obtain one, most immigrants are required to leave the United States and obtain a waiver from American consular officials abroad. But in leaving the country, undocumented people are subsequently barred from re-entering for another 10 years. 

Yosemit Xolara Rosales, a 32-year-old engineer and DACA recipient, hasn’t been able to apply for a green card precisely because of these reasons. He described the visa process as “very difficult and challenging,” but says that these new policies offered by the Biden administration make him optimistic. 

“I am very hopeful that the federal government can provide some assistance and some relief to the majority of immigrants, specifically DACA recipients, who have for the past decade or more contributed so much to the economy,” Rosales said. 

Rosales hopes that the program could increase opportunities for immigrants. Through a program called Advanced Parole, which allows certain undocumented immigrants to leave and re-enter the country, he was able to travel to the Netherlands for a work trip, saving about “two to three jobs for the company.” Biden’s new policies could make trips like this more viable for undocumented residents. 

Barriers

These new policies, however, may only benefit a narrow set of DACA recipients. 

Suriel Cruz, a 26 year-old videographer, isn’t able to pursue these new work visas and pathways towards legal residency because he doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree — a requisite to apply for Biden’s new policy. He says he struggled to succeed in school, and instead decided to pursue his videography career and other business ventures.

“There should be more pathways,” Cruz said. “We do pay our taxes. I have my own business. We do contribute to the United States.”

Undocumented students, including DACA recipients, are ineligible to receive federal financial aid, which may present additional challenges towards pursuing a work visa, especially as the undocumented population tends to have lower incomes. In Nevada, only about 1,000 DACA beneficiaries graduate high school each year. Although the state grants certain undocumented students in-state aid as of 2021 and access to some scholarships, the largest financial aid sources are federally funded and out of reach for those students. 

Quiros, however, hopes that Biden’s new visa policy will incentivize some DACA recipients — often called DREAMers after the proposed federal legislation — to go back to college, despite the cost. 

“The number of DREAMersthat have college degrees is not that much, but this program, it's a very good incentive for them to go back to school and get their bachelors.” she said.

Cruz and one of his friends also raised concerns about the new “parole-in-place” policy. He says that the policy could also add pressure to marry a U.S citizen “for the papers.”

However, there’s uncertainty whether “parole in place” and expedited work visas programs will last. Both were executive actions, meaning the next administration could quickly overturn them. Quiros, however, says that is not her “biggest concern.” It's the court system. 

“We don't know how long it will take before the first lawsuit hits us, or for how long we'll be able to file applications for,” Quiros said.