UMD Professor Co-Writes Story to Maryland Matters

As the 14th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program passes, recipients’ futures are deeply uncertain. Once lauded by scholars as “the most successful policy of immigrant integration,” many recipients are now abruptly losing gains they experienced with DACA, raising alarm about the possibility of downward mobility.

Giani is a public health professional who, with the benefit of DACA, earned degrees from prestigious Ivy League universities and worked as a health analyst, contributed to COVID-19 response efforts, and supported community health initiatives in the D.C. metropolitan region.

“I [Giani] was enrolled in a doctorate program when I submitted my DACA renewal to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within the recommended four- to five-month window prior to my work permit’s expiration. Like many other recipients, I did everything right: I had carefully followed every renewal requirement since getting DACA in 2013 and never experienced a significant delay–not even during the pandemic.

“However, this time, I waited anxiously for several months, checking every day to see if my renewal was approved, before my work authorization expired in March. Instead, I received an email notifying me that my university position was being terminated effective immediately since my work authorization expired.

“As a result, I became unemployed and uninsured, and faced tuition bills, uncertainty regarding my academic future, and the potential loss of opportunities for which I had worked for years. The most challenging aspect of this experience was that it did not result from any failure to comply with requirements, but from delays beyond my control.”