On September 5, 2017 the Trump Administration announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The lives of more than 800,000 immigrant youth who have benefited from this program over the last 5 years were immediately upended. Without the social security numbers and work permits provided by DACA, these young people are immediately at risk of losing their access to higher education, lawful employment, and relief from deportation. A preliminary injunction issued in January of 2018 blocked the termination of the DACA program originally scheduled to end on March 5. In response, UWD has been encouraging DACA recipients to submit applications for renewals while the injunction is in place.
To date, United We Dream has worked with 25 partners in 16 states to deploy more than $800,000 to support DACA Renewal Scholarships for more than 1700 immigrant youth. But more DACA recipients need your help.
The urgency of this humanitarian crisis cannot be overstated. This process is urgent, complicated, and expensive — applicants must submit $495 fee along with their renewal applications. Furthermore, for many DACA recipients who are students or low wage workers who often spend months saving up to pay for these fees, that is an extraordinary unexpected expense.
There are a number of things that the community must do to respond to the Trump Administration’s unprecedented assault on immigrant youth and their families. However, there is a parallel and equally urgent need to support and protect the individuals who currently benefit from the DACA program today. Therefore, the United We Dream Network (UWD) has decided to leverage its capacity on one critical element of a much broader fight. Together with its strategic partners, UWD has launched The Renewal Fund: an urgent opportunity to support DACA recipients’ renewal efforts.
You can make a contribution at www.dacarenewalfund.com
The United We Dream Network is the natural home for this effort for a number of reasons:
- UWD is the largest immigrant youth organization in the country and most of its 400,000 active members are impacted directly or indirectly by DACA.
- UWD has a solid track record as a trusted resource for immigrant communities and reaches 4.5 million people on average each month via social media.
- With 49 affiliates across 27 states, UWD has the largest on the ground footprint of any immigrant rights organization.
- Over the last 5 years, UWD has built a brand that is trusted by funders, policymakers, the media, leaders in the business and faith communities, and celebrities — all stakeholders whose participation will be a critical aspect of meeting this emergency humanitarian goal.
- This moment will engage a number of unusual partners who want to step up and support our community. The United We Dream Network is uniquely suited to cultivate those relationships longer term and leverage them for future policy fights.
- UWD is willing to leverage its staff capacity, organizational partnerships, and financial resources to launch this fund so every new dollar raised can go directly to ensure that an unexpected expense is not a barrier for DACA recipients to renew their status.