Aug. 29—When Fernanda Banda became eligible to apply for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012, her mother had to make a tough decision: Should she submit an application for Banda or Banda’s sister?

The program, known as DACA, offers work permits and deportation protection for more than 600,000 young immigrants living in the U.S. without legal residency status.

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Banda’s mother ultimately could not submit an application for either of her daughters when the program began. She was still paying her lawyer after her husband’s deportation a year earlier, and the fee for just one DACA application was $500.

A decade later, DACA’s future remains uncertain due to a federal court ruling, even after President Joe Biden announced a new rule last week meant to preserve the program. The confusion leaves Banda and other New Mexico immigrants frustrated about their own future in the country.

“It’s funny because now I have this big folder with all the documents I need, and I have the money now, and there’s just no way for that to happen,” said Banda, who arrived in the U.S. when she was a year old. “I’ve pretty much given up on it. It’s just not that high on my list anymore.”

Biden announced last week a new DACA rule will codify the program, replacing a 2012 memo creating the program during the administration of former President Barack Obama. The rule would open DACA to both new applications and renewal requests when it takes effect Oct. 31, but the federal court injunction still prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from granting initial requests.

Perhaps more troubling for young immigrants: The new rule doesn’t expand the stringent eligibility criteria established in 2012 — applicants must be at least 15 and show proof of consistent residency in the U.S. since 2007. That means the youngest people eligible to apply had to have arrived the year of their birth, and those born in later years won’t qualify.

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DACA has faced a number of challenges since its creation, with applications closing and reopening several times since then. In 2017, former President Donald Trump moved to end the program but was rebuffed in 2020 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled Trump did not follow appropriate procedures when repealing the program.

A federal judge in Texas then struck down the program in 2021 and ordered the Biden administration to stop admitting new participants. The case now lies in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which could issue a ruling in a matter of days.

The program has bipartisan support among Americans, with a majority of Democrats and Republicans supporting legal status for undocumented immigrants who arrived as children. Overall, 74 percent of Americans support such a policy, according to a 2020 Pew Research study.

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For Bryan Avila, 20, the extended hold on new applications means he’s had to turn down jobs. He had hoped to apply for DACA protections for years.

He now feels disappointed Biden hasn’t been able to create a permanent pathway to legal residency for people who crossed the border as children.

“You just live with constant fear that in any given moment you could just get deported,” Avila said. “It just makes it hard for yourself to get a normal life in the United States.”

During the small window between December 2020 and July 2021, the Santa Fe Dreamers Project, a grassroots group that provides immigration legal services, received 350 inquiries about applying for the program. In the years before the legal challenges, the organization received a steady stream of interested DACA applicants. The rush to process applications put a strain on the organization because of a lack of staffing.

The door shut on many people because of the long period of time it takes to process an application. Of the 170 people whose applications the organization submitted before July 2021, only about 75 got approved, said acting Executive Director Emma O’Sullivan.

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“I still get emails monthly from people who want to apply, asking if anything’s changed, and I have to tell them they’re still in limbo,” O’Sullivan said. “Or I get people who say, ‘I heard the news that Biden is trying to protect me. What’s changed?’ and I have to tell them, ‘Nothing.’ ”

The lack of updated eligibility requirements in Biden’s new rule also has led to disappointment.

“Unless they were born and migrated the next day, they won’t have proof that they were here,” O’Sullivan said.

Karen Campa, an organizer with the New Mexico Dream Team, which promotes justice for LGBTQ immigrants, has been here since she was 6. She said DACA’s cost and inconsistency make it a poor solution for many people.

“We can see that it’s not working,” Campa said. “DACA does work for some people, but it doesn’t cover the millions of people that are living here that have been here their entire lives. … I have a lot of other co-workers who arrived here after me, but they don’t qualify, but their entire life is here.”

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Much of the criticism of DACA centers on its lack of a pathway to citizenship. Most people who qualify for permanent residency in the U.S. may apply for citizenship in three to five years; that’s not true for DACA participants. The program’s goal is to not prioritize deportation for those admitted to the program, not help them find work or improve their quality of life, O’Sullivan said.

Banda said the separation between people who have protections through DACA and immigrants without documentation has prevented bigger change.

“People on DACA have a teeny, tiny bit more protection, but I feel like we have to come back together as undocumented people to create big plans and big solutions,” she said.

While Banda is skeptical about whether the federal government will deliver on its promises, she hopes to push for change at the state and local level. She cited the New Mexico Supreme Court’s recent ruling that prohibits immigration status from being the basis for denial of an attorney’s license.

“Even though the United States has let me down, New Mexico has lifted me up,” she said.

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Campa encouraged those waiting for a chance to apply for DACA to hold on to their hope.

“Don’t feel like just because you don’t have DACA or you can’t get DACA that you don’t have hope in this country,” Campa said. “There’s always going to be a community behind you protecting you.”

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