National Council of Asian Pacific Americans Celebrates Fourth Anniversary of DACA

Asian American and Pacific Islander Advocates Anticipate U.S. v. Texas Decision

Today, we celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has benefited hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants by reprieving them from deportation and allowing them to legally work. Yet, approximately 100,000 undocumented Asian Americans remain potentially eligible for this program but have not yet applied.

“As we celebrate the anniversary of DACA and Immigrant Heritage Month, we celebrate the young people who have been able to continue their education and obtain college degrees and work authorization,” said NCAPA National Director Christopher Kang. “We must continue our outreach efforts--recognizing that more than one in ten undocumented immigrants is Asian American--to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from the DACA program.”

By the end of the month, the Supreme Court likely will decide United States v. Texas, to determine whether the immigration executive actions that President Obama proposed in November 2014 will proceed. These immigration actions--currently blocked by lower court rulings--would expand DACA by allowing more immigrants to qualify under the program and would establish a new program, Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), that would aid parents of citizens and lawful permanent residents, including relief from deportation and allowing them to apply for work authorization.

“While we promote the original DACA program, we also strongly urge the Supreme Court to allow the President’s 2014 executive actions to proceed,” Kang continued. “These programs are vital for the nearly 400,000 Asian Americans who are expected to benefit from DAPA and expanded DACA, and for millions of undocumented immigrants across the country.”

More information on the current DACA program:

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has AAPI community stories from people who have benefitted from DACA.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has a DACA Toolkit, which is available in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

More information on U.S. v. Texas, Expanded DACA, and DAPA:

The National Immigration Law Center has an infographic on what to do when the Supreme Court makes their decision. Download the graphic here.

Read stories of Asian Americans who would benefit from expanded DACA and DAPA from NCAPA member Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.

DACA and DAPA resources in English and Asian languages from NCAPA members are compiled at ncapaonline.org/immigration.

Additional resources are available at www.adminrelief.org.

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Based in Washington, D.C., the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans is a coalition of 35 national Asian Pacific American organizations that serves to represent the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and to provide a national voice for our communities’ concerns. Our communities are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, currently making up approximately six percent of the population.