LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — Since the federal program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was created in 2012 by the Obama administration, more than 800,000 child immigrants have benefited.

What You Need To Know

  • The future of thousands of immigrants in North Carolina who are part of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, better known as DACA, is in question

  • The program was created in 2012 by the Obama administration and defers the removal of qualifying immigrants from the U.S., provides a two-year work permit and gives them a temporary driver's license 

  • A federal appeals court is reviewing if the program as it was created is unlawful

  • There are more than 24,000 DACA recipients, known as Dreamers, in North Carolina

The program, better known as DACA, defers removal from the U.S. for young immigrants who qualify. In North Carolina, there are 24,000 people in the program. Qualifying recipients also can receive a temporary driver’s license and a two-year work permit. 

Jessica Gonzalez, who arrived in the U.S. when she was just 8 years old from Mexico with her parents, has built a life in North Carolina thanks to the program. 

“I remember somebody calling me very excited that I was going to be able to get a permit to work, have a driver’s license. Without this, I wouldn’t be able to have, or even what I do for a living. I don’t know if I would be able to do this if I didn’t have DACA, so it was a very emotional moment,” said Gonzalez. 

Gonzalez applied and was accepted for the program when she was in high school, but she was still required to pay out-of-state tuition when she was accepted in UNC Charlotte. At $40,0000 a year, Gonzalez said she couldn’t afford to get a degree to become a teacher. In 2021, she applied for her real estate license and has been working in North Carolina, and also started a remodeling business with her husband. 

A federal appeals court heard legal arguments on the legality of the Obama administration program over the summer. 

Right now, the Department of Homeland Security says it continues to accept renewals for the program, but is not accepting new applications. 

She says if the DACA program is eliminated, she would lose her work permit and driver’s license, leaving her without many options. 

“The majority of us that have DACA, we grew up here, a lot of them since they were babies, for us America, North Carolina, this is our home, even though we’re Hispanic or I can say, yes, I’m Mexican, I feel very American. I love this country and I wouldn’t ever want to leave it, and I know a lot of people feel the same way,” said Gonzalez.