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Judge fully restores DACA program

Posted at 9:01 PM, Dec 09, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-09 23:01:23-05

TWIN FALLS — DACA recipients are breathing a sigh of relief after a judge reinstated the program back to its original form. For one DACA recipient here in Idaho, this change means being able to stay in school.

"In circumstances like that, I'm not even sure if I would have continued my studies or how I would have paid for DACA," Monica Carillo, DACA recipient, said.

After almost putting an end to the program, the Trump administration changed the program so new applicants could not apply, and current recipients can only renew their applications for one year instead of two.

This was terrible news for DACA recipients like Carillo since she would have to pay the $500 application every year instead of every two years.

"I had just recently got a scholarship for DACA to be able to pay for it for the full two years, and I was excited, but then I heard it was only going to be one year and I thought well what am I going to do next year, what does that mean for me," Carillo said.

The judge also ordered for the applications of recipients who renewed their applications during that time to be restored for two years instead of one.

"It may be doesn't sound like a lot, but you know the application fee is $500, so suddenly people are going to be paying $500 every year," Maria Andrade, an immigration lawyer for Immigrant Justice Idaho, said.

The program was fully restored after a judge found Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf was unlawfully appointed.

"When the supreme court said you dismantled the program unlawfully means you get returned back to the situation or the circumstance that were before the order was issued," Andrade said.

Carillo says after hearing a judge fully restored the program, she felt a sigh of relief, but not just for herself.

"I felt relieved mainly for other DACA recipients, not even for me. I want to see other people grow and see them achieve what they have always wanted to do. Now that they have the opportunity to do things for their family and achieve things their family hasn't done before, it's such a stress reliever," Carillo said.

Andrade says this change is a stress reliever for DAC recipients throughout the state.

"I do think it communicates to the population of young people or people who were brought here when they were young they're not going anywhere. They're going to be here for the foreseeable future," Andrade said.