Demographic Snapshot * DACA Directory * Resources * Contact

Overview of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Implemented on August 15, 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy directive that provides temporary relief from deportation—among other benefits—to qualifying immigrant youth and young adults. In response to this development, GCIR launched Delivering on the Dream, an initiative aimed at coordinating national, state, and local funding to maximize the number of potentially eligible individuals—an estimated 1.76 million nationally—who will benefit from this critical form of immigration relief.

DACA represents a timely and strategic opportunity for funders to leverage the impact of their investments, meet pressing community needs, and achieve a lasting impact through diverse grantmaking priorities. The immediate and long-term benefits of DACA are considerable—for example, the directive’s educational requirements are expected to improve academic outcomes for young immigrants, and access to work authorization will help beneficiaries gain an economic foothold in our society.

Potential DACA Beneficiaries Nationally and in the Top-Eight States (by Total and Share of Beneficiary Population)

Nationwide, the highest share of potential DACA beneficiaries come from Mexico and Central America (74%), followed by youth from South America and the Caribbean (11%). By country of origin, Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala account for the largest number of potential DACA beneficiaries with an estimated 1.17 million, 60,000, and 50,000 eligible individuals, respectively. India and Korea (with approximately 30,000 potential beneficiaries each) round out the top five countries with the most DACA-eligible individuals. (Relief from Deportation: Demographic Profile of the DREAMers Potentially Eligible under the Deferred Action Policy, by Jeanne Batalova and Michelle Mittelstadt, Migration Policy Institute, August 7, 2012.)

GCIR Overview of DACA Funding Opportunities

This document regarding DACA funding opportunities for philanthropy provides a brief overview of DACA and potential beneficiaries, reviews the significant implications--and opportunities--for DACA has for advancing philanthropic goals in multiple priority areas, and lays out funding opportunities as well as GCIR's role and philanthropic response to date.

Download GCIR's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Funding Opportunities for Philanthropy.

GCIR DACA Recommendations for Education Funders

This brief provides grantmakers in education with guidance on DACA, including its implications and areas for investment that would enhance educational opportunities and outcomes for undocumented immigrant children and youth. It highlights the fact that DACA offers a chance for young immigrants to pursue further education and access better-paying jobs in the formal economy. 

Download GCIR's DACA Implementation: Implications and Opportunities for Education Funders. 

GCIR DACA Funding Recommendations Addressing Rural Youth

This document provides key information, data, and funding recommendations for grantmakers regarding undocumented youth in rural areas of the United States and the implications of DACA in their lives. It addresses their special needs, including the fact that rural immigrants are less likely to be college-bound or enrolled in college, and more likely to work in low-wage positions with little job security.  

Download GCIR's Helping Disadvantaged Youth in Rural Communities: DACA Implementation and Funding Opportunities. 

GCIR Briefing Paper on Loans for DREAMers

For many low-income immigrants, relief under the DACA policy remains out of reach due to the $465 application fee. The fee is often cited as the top reason DREAMers delay filing their DACA applications. This informational brief provides examples of DACA loan programs that GCIR and our philanthropic partners are involved in nationwide, helping to make DACA a reality for DREAMers.

Download GCIR's Expanding Financial Access for Immigrants: Loans for DREAMers. 

DACA Directory

GCIR is playing a central coordinating role to help funders connect around DACA, minimize duplication of efforts, and leverage investments at the national, state, and local levels. To this end, GCIR has developed an inventory of DACA-related resources, including community education materials in multiple formats and languages, as well as links to national resource pages where immigrants can find local service providers that can help them submit requests for DACA.

GCIR prepared the following inventory using a wide range of sources, and it is intended for informational purposes only. The content was not created or vetted by GCIR; its accuracy is the sole responsibility of the organization that produced it.

Given that the following list is not exhaustive, we will continue to update the directory as often as possible and encourage you to share additional resources with us by sending an email to Walter Barrientos, special projects manager, at walter@gcir.org.

• Official Documents
• Resource Portals
• Community Education-Basic Information
• Community Education-FAQ's
• Community Education-Other
• Community Education-Media
• Fraud Prevention
• Resources for Organizations

Additional Resources

Latest reports on application and approval rates
USCIS Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Monthly Reports

Demographics of DACA Beneficiaries

• Up to 1.7 Million Unauthorized Immigrant Youth May Benefit from New Deportation Rules, by Jeffrey Passel and Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew Hispanic, Center, August 14, 2012.
• Relief from Deportation: Demographic Profile of the DREAMers Potentially Eligible under the Deferred Action Policy, by Jeanne Batalova and Michelle Mittelstadt, Migration Policy Institute, August 7, 2012.
• Who and Where the DREAMers Are, Revised Estimates, Immigration Policy Center, October 2012.

Government-issued information and resources on DACA

• USCIS: Online Resources on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, January 18, 2013.
• Deferred Action Process for Young People Who Are Low Enforcement Priorities, USCIS, July 6, 2012.
• President Obama Speaks on Department of Homeland Security Immigration Announcement, the White House, June 15, 2012.

Impact Analysis

• Economic Benefits of Granting Deferred Action to Unauthorized Immigrants Brought to U.S. as Youth, Immigration Policy Center, June 22, 2012.

Perspectives from the Field

• Making Good on the Promise: Helping Out-of-School Immigrants, Farmworkers, and other Rural Immigrants Qualify for Deferred Action, by Ed Kissam, Werner-Kohnstamm Family Fund, October 21, 2012.
• The Early Success of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Policy, by Marshall Fitz, Patrick Oakford, and Ann Garcia, Center for American Progress, October 26. 2012.
• Future Attorneys Provide Pro Bono Service, University of Texas School of Law, February 25, 2013

Media Highlights

• More than 100,000 Young Immigrants Granted Temporary Reprieve From Deportation, Public Broadcasting Service, December 14, 2012
• Young Immigrants, Seeking Deferred Action Help, Find Unexpected Path, New York Times, March 22 2013.

GCIR Webinar and Program Resource Pages

• One Step Closer to DREAM: Helping Undocumented Youth Obtain Relief under New Immigration Policy, GCIR, July 13, 2012. Includes a recording of the webinar and speaker information.
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Update: Emerging Implementation Strategies and Funding Opportunities, GCIR, October 4, 2012.
• New Educational and Economic Opportunities for Maryland's Immigrant Youth, December 8, 2012 Presented jointly by Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers (ABAG) and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.
• Funders' Briefing and Site Visit: Advancing the DREAM: Innovative Approaches to DACA Implementation in California, GCIR, December 6, 2012.
• Toward a Common Good: Maximizing Economic Opportunity, Access to Education, and the Contributions of New Americans in Dallas, Texas, February 12, 2013. Co-sponsored by The Conference of Southwest Foundations, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. To download a copy of Matthew Denhart's presentation for this program click here.
• Grantor/Grantee Dialogue: Toward a Common Good: Maximizing Economic Opportunity, Access to Education, and the Contributions of New Americans in Houston, Texas, February 13, 2013. Co-sponsored by The Conference of Southwest Foundations, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, and United Way of Greater Houston. To download a copy of Matthew Denhart's presentation for this program click here.

How to Become Involved

For additional questions about education issues and DACA, the policy’s implications for the larger philanthropic community, and funder collaboratives currently in place, please contact Walter Barrientos, GCIR's special projects manager, at walter@gcir.org or 707.483.3960.

Grantmakers that fund in California should contact Felecia Bartow, GCIR’s director of programs and research, at felecia@gcir.org or 510.814.3958.