This uneven geography of local enforcement and educational access demonstrates that today, perhaps more so than ever before, where one resides within the United States dramatically shapes a multitude of experiences based on local impediments and opportunities.Eric, who grew up in Georgia, was distraught when he realized that, despite meeting the GPA requirement, he was not eligible to apply for a private scholarship that would have covered 90 percent of residency tuition.
For many DACA beneficiaries who view DACA as an opportunity to improve work and life conditions through the work permits the program provides, the experience of being excluded from professional licensure is a great disappointment.Those receiving DACA while still in high school described an immediate change in their motivation; attending college and working in their dream fields had become a real option for them.
As Tonya explained:Tonya and Manny took advantage of opportunities to pursue medical fields in their respective states.
The opportunity to earn money lifted the burden from her parents and provided Layla a concrete means for paying for her tuition and books. She left school during her junior year of high school. Others have adopted a more restrictive stance—for example, by attempting to criminalize unauthorized presence and exclude undocumented immigrants from public universities.
Among a range of DACA beneficiaries, many expressed a sense of new hope in their abilities to achieve those goals.While Alex’s teachers and counselors at his high school in Georgia encouraged him to pursue college, they were unaware of the obstacles he faced and how to navigate them.Currently, our sample includes 100 respondents from Arizona, 95 respondents from California, 54 respondents from Georgia, 98 respondents from Illinois, 79 respondents from New York, and 41 respondents from South Carolina.Our sampling methodology was purposefully designed to reach respondents with a wide variety of educational backgrounds. Because laws and interpretations vary across states, and even across professions within a state, it is extremely difficult for DACA beneficiaries to know which paths are available to them and which are not.Distinct from medical assistant jobs that do not require licensure, massage therapy is one of the occupations that requires a state license to practice in Arizona.
At least 190 occupations require state licenses in some states, and 93 occupations are licensed in all states. Overall, DACA is lifting hopes.Manny currently works the night shift at a hospital and is enrolled at a four-year university, where he takes classes during the day. At the time of interview, 36.4 percent of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 21, meaning they were 18 or younger at the time of DACA’s announcement in 2012; 63.6 percent were aged 22 and above, meaning they were above age 18 when DACA was announced. The CNA job provides him better pay, working conditions, and benefits, and since his ultimate goal is to work in the medical field, he is gaining invaluable experience at the same time.While some of our respondents were aware of the restrictions in their state and made career decisions in light of them—choosing specific vocations that did not require licensure—other respondents did not find out about their ineligibility until after they started or finished their programs. The brief notes that ending DACA would potentially block thousands of current DACA recipients and DACA-eligible individuals from either enrolling in public institutions or being eligible for in-state tuition in the ten states. While parents are generally supportive of their children’s post-secondary dreams, they often do not have the financial means to assist. In total, 35 different countries are represented in our interview sample.
Making ends meet was always a struggle for his mother, who cleaned the houses of more affluent South Carolina families. Nevertheless, many of these specialized vocations require a professional license in order to gain employment.