Reform Efforts
Reform Efforts
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an immigration policy that allows some undocumented immigrants who were brought as children to apply for a renewable one-year period of safety from deportation and become eligible for a work permit in the U.S. Although it offers temporary protections it has been under attack by the previous administration and has pending legal challenges. The protection also offers no access to many federal benefits or federal financial assistance for school. The policy is at best a reform, and one that is not working for many.
The current administration has re-designated several countries under temporary protection status but similar to DACA this policy is temporary and limited leaving many in continual fear of deportation back to the dangers they fled.
The current administration has promised asylum reform, (1) but the current realities still exist - with complex laws to navigate, long detention times while awaiting procedures, and a lack of legal assistance.
With the federal government failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform many Cities have stepped in to try and mitigate the harms with the creation of city offices for immigrants, such as NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs that offer assistance with connecting to benefits, legal aid, education, health, and employment. These services often act only as a band-aid to a much larger systemic issue.