Applicants for Obama’s DREAMer Program Are Mostly Mexican, Under 21

The majority of undocumented immigrants who have applied for President Obama’s two-year reprieve from deportation are Mexican, younger than 21 and were less than 10 years old when they came to the United States, according to an in-depth analysis.

The study, released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan think tank, showed that 54 percent of all those who applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, were not of drinking age. The next largest age group of applicants–with 36 percent–fell between 15 and 18 years old, the study showed.

{snip}

Obama implemented the program last August after years of advocacy by students and lawmakers in support of the so-called DREAM Act, which would have provided a path to citizenship for thousands of young immigrants in the country illegally. {snip}

{snip}

Some 557,000 immigrants had applied for DACA as of late June. The vast majority, nearly 75 percent, were approved, 25 percent were still under review and about 1 percent–or 5,383–were denied.

{snip}

DACA offers work permits for two years, eligible for renewal. To qualify, they must show that they came to America before their 16th birthday, and have been 30 or younger when the policy was announced on June 15, 2012.

They must also either be in school, have graduated from high school or served in the military. And they can’t have a serious criminal record or pose a threat to public safety or national security.

With a work permit and Social Security number, they can drive in most states, open a bank account and in some states, pay in-state college tuition.

{snip}

The program does not lead to residency or citizenship, but it also spares these immigrants from the threat of deportation. {snip}

{snip}