newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\nThe potential change is forcing them to make decisions they didn\u2019t expect to have to make. \u201cShould we buy this house?\u201d asked Zubko, a 28-year-old Argentinian whose wife is also protected by DACA, of the purchase he was about to make. \u201cWe got a loan,\u201d he said. \u201cWe both have good paying jobs. And last year we had a baby and she\u2019s an American citizen. But if DACA gets taken away, we\u2019re not sure we\u2019d be able to close on the house and that\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such concerns are widespread. Two immigrants said they\u2019re frightened that losing their jobs means their homes will be taken away in foreclosures. One said she didn\u2019t know whether to renew her lease. Another said she would drop out of school: Why study to be a teacher if no one will be able to employ you?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what would happen to my 401(k) or my taxes or my lease,\u201d said Nathali Bertran, an engineer in Honda\u2019s research and development division. A native of Peru, Bertran helped create DACA Time, a website that allows immigrants to prepare their applications digitally.<\/p>\n
As for Angulo, the man nearing his one-year anniversary at the electrical company, his work permit expires on October 6. Angulo renewed his Mexican passport last month\u00a0\u2014 just in case. On Wednesday, he emailed his company\u2019s human resources department wondering if they could sponsor him for an employment visa. He hasn\u2019t heard back yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like I just went from being able to look at the stars and shoot for them to all of a sudden getting dragged down,\u201d he said, \u201clike if someone put cement blocks on your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Guajardo\u2019s part, his new job \u2014 and his health insurance \u2014 may turn out to be temporary. Before DACA was implemented, he lived near the Mexican border and had never left his town, scared of what would happen if he encountered one of the dozens of immigration checkpoints that the Border Patrol operates along the border.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I\u2019ve traveled all around the country,\u201d he said. \u201cDACA changed my life completely, from being stuck in a little town, to going to my favorite university, to getting a great job and exploring new places.\u201d<\/p>\n
When DACA was created in 2012, only four states allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver\u2019s licenses, and that list didn\u2019t include Texas or California, where the majority of DACA recipients live.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have a driver\u2019s license is a tremendous thing,\u201d said Ken Schmitt, an immigration lawyer who has helped file hundreds of DACA applications. \u201cIn the past, one way ICE got people into removal proceedings was after they were pulled over by police,\u201d he said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. \u201cThey would arrest them for driving without a license and then turn them over to ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barclay\u2019s livelihood depends on his commercial driver\u2019s license. A 25-year-old immigrant from Guyana, he drives a truck in New York, where, should he lose his legal status, he would no longer be eligible for a license.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing that I can do now is honestly to work as much as I can, basically get no sleep until that day,\u201d Barclay said. \u201cOnce my work permit expires, I still have to pay rent, eat and live and that money won\u2019t be building anymore, just depleting every single day. I can\u2019t even fathom this right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Applying for DACA costs $485 every two years, excluding attorney fees. At any given moment, there are around 100,000 applications and renewals pending, according to statistics from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which administers the program. Steve Blando, a USCIS spokesman said on Thursday evening the agency was still accepting and processing DACA applications.<\/p>\n
Carlos Garcia is worried not only about losing his job but also that the government will try to deport him and his wife, who is not shielded by DACA. His work permit expires on Dec. 3 and his renewal is pending. After obtaining DACA privileges, he had started a job as an IT help desk technician and moved up to become a server administrator.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what the administration says, it\u2019s open season on immigrants now,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to find us.\u201d<\/p>\n
DACA applicants feel particularly nervous because applying for the program meant they voluntarily revealed information to the government, including where they live. They also submit new portrait photographs of themselves every two years and provide details such as their height, weight, and eye and hair colors. A large number have also provided copies of their birth certificates, which identify their parents by name.<\/p>\n
Alan Torres, a 31-year-old Mexican immigrant, experienced firsthand what happens when DACA protections lapse. A few years ago, his new work permit did not arrive before his old one expired. His company told him he\u2019d have to take a leave of absence.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Torres\u2019s career wouldn\u2019t have been possible without the program. He has a degree in information systems but when he started college he thought he might never be able to work in his field. Said Torres: \u201cIf I had graduated without DACA I would still be working in the restaurant industry.\u201d
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