MAF survey reveals barriers DACA recipients face

It was 2017 when the Trump Administration’s attacks on DACA turned to reality when it rescinded the program established by President Obama in 2012. In the aftermath of this decision, we knew there would be hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who could not afford the high-cost of renewing their status. Their lives would be thrown into chaos and uncertainty.

In a moment of great despair, we launched the largest DACA renewal campaign in the country, helping 7,600 DACA recipients renew their status within a remarkable 3 day period. The profound impact of this effort continues to resonate both for MAF and in the lives of the DACA recipients who found relief and support when they needed it the most.

The campaign taught us valuable lessons, from learning how to be responsive to community needs when crisis strikes to scaling our technology while maintaining trust, which is central to our community centered approach.

Now, years later, DACA’s fate still hangs in the balance. Despite years of activism and advocacy, no pathway to permanency has been created for Dreamers and DACA eligible individuals. With the current legal challenges DACA faces, and the Supreme Court’s recent rulings, the likelihood that DACA will come to an end, is unfortunately very likely.

Community comes together to create opportunities

In early 2024, MAF was invited to take part in the Bay Area DACA Initiative (BADI), a coalition of non-profit organizations and legal service providers who came together to find ways of supporting DACA recipients. Their goal is to support 8,000 DACA recipients in the Bay Area to find a path towards legal permanent residency. To achieve this goal, the idea of creating a tool that would connect DACA recipients with the financial and legal resources they need to navigate the complex U.S. immigration system rose to the surface. We were brought to the project for our expertise and experience using technology, providing financial education, and financial assistance for application fees.

Listening to DACA recipients and understanding their barriers

Designing a tool to help DACA recipients, especially as the program faces a real threat of ending, is a large undertaking, but we knew where to start. When we design solutions, we center clients at the heart of any product or program to understand where they are and what they need. In that spirit, we invited the 11,000 DACA recipients we’ve supported with loans and grants over the years to take part in a survey to understand their needs and obstacles when pursuing pathways to lawful permanent residency.

The 25+ question survey was personalized to every respondent’s immigration status and revealed insights into their employment, education and the barriers they currently face on their immigration journeys. In our ongoing exploration of supporting DACA recipients we’ve learned that the majority of respondents were unmarried women aged 30 or older, many of whom have some college education or a bachelor’s degree.

We found that the majority of the sample are employed full-time, with 63% working in a variety of industries. Consistent with our prior research, DACA recipients aspire to enter helping professions, with most respondent’s working in the fields of healthcare, education, social assistance, hospitality, and technology. 

Identifying roadblocks and opportunities to provide support

The most illuminating insights from the survey came from understanding the barriers that survey respondents face on their paths to lawful permanent residency. The U.S. immigration system is costly, complex, and confusing. The survey results revealed that only 40% of respondents had been screened by an immigration attorney or a legal service provider to determine their possible options. Of these respondents, finances and anxieties were identified as their biggest obstacles. On the other hand, the 54% of respondents who hadn’t been screened named gaps in knowledge as their key challenges. More specifically, they said financial concerns and being unsure about eligibility were preventing them from moving forward on their immigration journeys. 

Understanding these key challenges validated the need for creating a tool that would provide holistic legal support and accessible actionable plans for individuals seeking critical immigration information and financial resources. Our survey findings confirmed the needs of DACA recipients and charted a path towards developing an application that could address their challenges. We asked survey respondents, if they could create the perfect app to help them on their immigration journeys what would it feature? Here are some of the responses. 

Launching a solution: My Immigration Journey App 

We are now in development of the My Immigration Journey App (MIJA), an app that will provide legal resources, actionable plans, and accessible educational resources to immigrants on their path towards lawful permanent residency. Providing information and educating DACA recipients about their options as we approach the likely end of the DACA program is how we are showing up for them when they need it most. Over half a million people face losing their ability to work, pursue education, and support their families without DACA. We know the ripple effect that losing DACA will have on thousands of lives and we, alongside partners and advocates, are determined to do everything we can to not leave our community in the dark. 

We invite you to watch this brief recording where we present our DACA recipient survey results and stay tuned for more insights as we continue this learning journey.