Many DACA recipients are losing their status due to lengthy processing delays
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s MONDAY, JULY THIRTEENTH>>>> [WHY IS THE AVERAGE WAIT TIME FOR DACA RENEWAL APPLICATIONS TAKING SO LONG TO PROCESS?]More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
FOUR AIRLINES THAT FLY OUT OF SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO REDUCE NOISE DURING TAKE OFF AND LANDING.
UNITED, BREEZE, D-H-L EXPRESS AND THE GERMAN AIRLINE LUFTHANSA [LOOF-TAHN-SUH] ARE THIS YEAR’S FLY QUIET AWARD WINNERS.
THE PROGRAM STARTED NINE YEARS AGO TO ENCOURAGE AIRLINES TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THE AIRPORT AND THE COMMUNITY TO OPERATE AS QUIETLY AS POSSIBLE.
UNITED AIRLINES EARNED THE HIGHEST SCORE IN THE LARGE DOMESTIC CARRIER CATEGORY WHILE BREEZE AIRWAYS EARNED THE HIGHEST IN THE SMALL DOMESTIC CARRIER CATEGORY
D-H-L EXPRESS USA WAS REWARDED IN THE AIR CARGO CARRIER CATEGORY FOR STRONG NOISE PERFORMANCE
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST LUFTHANSA [ LOOF-TAHN-SUH] WON IN THE INTERNATIONAL CARRIER CATEGORY
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THIS MONTH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WILL ROLL OUT ITS NEW ACCOUNTABILITY TEST FOR MANY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
IT’S MOST COMMONLY KNOWN AS “DO NO HARM”
IT SHOWS THAT IF A PROGRAM IS UNABLE TO PROVE THAT A GRADUATE IS FINANCIALLY BETTER OFF THAN BEFORE BEING ENROLLED, IT CAN BE CUT FROM RECEIVING FEDERAL LOANS
THE SAME APPLIES TO GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO FOUR YEARS AFTER GRAD SCHOOL MUST EARN MORE THAN THOSE WHO DID NOT GO TO GRAD SCHOOL
NPR SAYS DATA RELEASED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ED SHOWS THAT ROUGHLY ONE PERCENT OF UNDERGRADUATE BACHELOR DEGREE PROGRAMS -- AND FOUR PERCENT OF STUDENTS WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE -- ARE AT-RISK OF FAILING
OPPONENTS WORRY THAT THE TEST RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF COLLEGE. IS IT JUST ABOUT MAKING MONEY?
SUPPORTERS THINK NOT. THAT EARNINGS ALONE DO NOT MEASURE A PROGRAM'S TRUE VALUE
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550 THOUSAND DOLLARS …
THAT’S HOW MUCH THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO IS SAVING BY CLOSING 13 PUBLIC BATHROOMS IN MISSION BAY
THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT BUDGET ANALYST
NBC-7 SAYS THIS IS PART OF THE CITY’S ONGOING EFFORT TO ADDRESS ITS BUDGET DEFICIT
THIS MEANS THE WALK TO FIND A PUBLIC RESTROOM IN MISSION BAY MAY TAKE YOU A LITTLE LONGER
TO HELP YOU, THE CITY HAS POSTED A MAP ON ITS WEBSITE SHOWING THE RESTROOMS STILL OPEN
YOU CAN VISIT SAN DIEGO DOT GOV AND SEARCH BEACH AND BAY PARK RESTROOM AVAILABILITY
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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THERE ARE ALMOST HALF A MILLION DACA RECIPIENTS IN THE U.S. THE DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS PROGRAM OFFERS LEGAL STATUS TO PEOPLE WHO WERE BROUGHT INTO THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY AS CHILDREN.
REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS SAYS MANY OF THEM ARE NOW LOSING THEIR STATUS BECAUSE OF ADMINISTRATIVE DELAYS.
DACADELAY (gs) 4:10 SOQ
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KPBS0601_01 00:06:53:18 / 19:16:10:13“ring, ring,…”
I’m at the law office of Adam Peña. He’s calling a client who recently had her DACA status expire.
Cont.“… ring ring , hello? Hey Rosario. Hi. I’m here with Gustavo. Hello Hola. Hola como estas, bien usted?”
Rosario has been in the DACA program for 14 years. And - like every other DACA holder - she renews it every two years.
Peña says she filed for renewal last December.
Adam Peña Immigration Lawyer KPBS0601_01 00:00:56:25 / 19:10:13:20“It’s been more than six months. She lost her DACA authorization in March of this year.”
Losing DACA essentially turns Rosario into an undocumented immigrant overnight. Her boss told her she can’t legally work for him anymore.
KPBS0601_02 00:01:03:27 / 19:24:06:16“Literally made me cry. They’re telling you that you’re not going to work no more. So where are you going to get money? You don’t got no papers to go apply somewhere else.”
The whole experience has been a gut punch for the single mother of three – whose oldest daughter is an active-duty soldier with the U.S. Army.
Voice of RosarioLost DACA status because of delaysKPBS0601_01 00:10:22:22 / 19:19:39:17“I don’t think that this is fair for this family. We’re trying so hard to stay here and work hard. Because that’s what we’re here for, to work, to be good citizens, to be an example that we can live here with no issues at all.”
DACA recipients all over the country are losing their status because of unusually lengthy delays.
According to federal data, it only took two weeks on average to process renewal applications in 2024. Now, the average wait time is almost 3 months.
Lawyers KPBS spoke to say some clients are waiting six months or longer.
Immigration lawyer Marciela Amezola noticed something was off at the start of this year – when she’d normally be hearing back on applications she filed in November.
Marciela AmezolaImmigration LawyerKPBS0597_01 00:02:48:29 / 02:58:41:05“February rolls around, March, April, and now people are reaching out to us saying hey my boss sent me a letter that I am about to lose my job”
KPBS0597_01 00:08:49:26 / 03:04:42:00“I’ve had clients who are nurses. That ended up going to the swap meets to sell food … I have clients who had to get unemployment .”
Amezola has been practicing law since before President Obama created the DACA program in 2012.
KPBS0597_02 00:02:37:25 / 03:12:15:25“At this point, these kids they’re not kids they’re all grown now. Parents and business owners. It’s that. They’re established in the community. They are more American than they are whatever their birth country is.”
One of her clients worked at the District Attorney’s Office – in a unit that tackles sensitive cases.
Z63_8358 00:07:12:17“Chila abuse, animal abuse, elder abuse and domestic violence.”
She lost the job after her DACA status expired because of delays. The woman asked KPBS not to identify her out of concern for her immigration status.
DACA recipientZ63_8358 00:04:27:16“You start to think what am I going to do because I have no income. I have bills to pay. The bills and rent are not going to wait for you to find a job.”
Z63_8358 00:05:02:00“The main one is rent. Then you have gas, you have internet you have cell phone you have insurance; you have car insurance, I have pet insurance. Then you have groceries. The list goes on and on.”
The woman’s DACA status was finally renewed at the end of June. But she has to reapply for her job in the District Attorney’s office – and it takes at least a few months to go through the hiring process.
She says it feels like an attack on DACA holders – as if the government doesn’t want them here anymore.
Z63_8358 00:08:46:20“They want to – in a way – break us down. Because if you can’t survive here what other option is there for you instead of leave.”
But she takes comfort in the fact that recent Gallup polls show 85 percent of Americans – including 71 percent of Republicans – support DACA recipients having a pathway to citizenship.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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THERE ARE ROUGHLY 60,000 PEOPLE HELD IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
REPORTER GUSTAVO SOLIS ALSO BRINGS US THIS STORY AND SAYS THE WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT HAS BECOME A MUCH NEEDED DISTRACTION.
WORLDCUPDETAIN 1(gs) 1:14 SOQ
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I recently took a trip to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. I’m not allowed to bring any recording equipment.
CONTAlright sir, do you have any weapons, cell phones? No, no weapons. I do have a phone do you want me to run back in the car and put it away? Yes please sir you gotta leave your cell phones in your vehicle.”
20 people have died in immigration detention centers so far this year but, I'm not here to talk about that.
But I’m here to talk about a rare source of happiness in what is otherwise a joyless place.
The World Cup. Detainees are allowed to watch the matches. Each game brings a welcome distraction.
I talked to Alcides Gomes during my visit. He’s a detainee from Cape Verde – a tiny island nation off the coast of West Africa. They are the tournament’s ultimate underdogs.
This is what TV announcers said after their last game.
Zlatan 1:17Small island with big dreams … these guys, they’re heroes ..”
Gomes says he’s proud of how they fought. That it inspired him to fight as well.
He’s been detained for 14 months. And misses his four sons back in Boston – where he has lived since coming to the United States 37 years ago.
Gustavo Solis, KPBS News
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A NEW REPORT FOUND THAT UNHOUSED SENIORS ARE STAYING HOMELESS MUCH LONGER.
PENNER FELLOW EMMY BURRUS SAYS STREET OUTREACH HAS BEEN THE MOST SUCCESSFUL WAY TO GET PEOPLE HOUSED:
RTFHREPORT 1 (eb) TRT 0:54 SOQ
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Overall more people experiencing homelessness in San Diego are finding housing.
But -- the average time that seniors are staying homeless is more than 230 days.
That’s what came out of a recent report that looked at trends in homelessness over a three year period.
It was compiled by the Regional TaskForce on Homelessness // and Tamera Kohler heads up the group.
TAMERA 3:18.690-3:35.135
“We will direct and dedicate more funding to solutions for seniors, shallow subsidies, diversion, really working on bringing on more types of units that meet their needs. really looking for those deeply affordable units.”
It also found that street outreach was more successful in helping people find housing.
Jayna Lee works for PATH, which does the street outreach work.
JAYNA 00:07:35:21 - 00:07:46:02
“There's value in individuals meeting people exactly where they're at, whether it be in the riverbed in a canyon on the side of the freeway.”
Emmy Burrus, KPBS News
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THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION LAST THURSDAY UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A REQUEST BY THE CITY OF CARLSBAD TO ENACT STRICTER ZONING LAWS AROUND MC-CLELLAN PALOMAR AIRPORT.
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN LOOKS INTO WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE AIRPORT.
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CARLSBADCC 1(an) TRT: 0:50 SOQ
This all came about because nearby residents complained about the increase in commercial flights and the amount of noise.”
So Carlsbad updated its general land and zoning ordinance two years ago to re-define airport use. The goal is to make the reviews tougher for airport expansion.
But the Coastal Commission says just because it approved this does not mean it affects any activities currently underway at the airport.
Karl Schwing is the director for the commission’s San Diego district.
“The implementation plan amendment does not authorize any physical development or alter airport operations. The commission’s action on the amendment does not express any opinion regarding current or future airport operations, uses or expansions.”
The changes affect the properties surrounding Palomar Airport, should the county decide to expand it in the future
The airport itself is NOT within the Coastal Commission’s jurisdiction.
AN/KPBS
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That’s it for the podcast today. The podcast today was edited by Traci Tong and hosted and produced by me, Lawrence K. Jackson. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
