From his Gage Park home, 24-year-old Francisco Rafael Peralta-Cerda is busy developing lesson plans and coursework to keep his middle school students focused on daily assignments amid a public health crisis sweeping the nation.
In addition to the stresses of teaching remotely, Peralta-Cerda, who immigrated with his parents from Mexico more than two decades ago, also is worried about his ability to keep working in the country.
Peralta-Cerda is among the more than 32,000 immigrants in the Chicago area who are enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that shields young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. Because the future of the program is uncertain — the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether the Trump administration can end it — immigrants like Peralta-Cerda are anxious to keep their work permits up to date and maintain their jobs.
But with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices closed because of the new coronavirus, work permit renewals have been a concern in the immigrant community. The agency requires individuals pursuing renewals to appear in person for fingerprinting and a photograph, something that’s been impossible with offices closed.
On Monday, the agency announced it would process DACA work permit renewals reusing prior fingerprints and photographs the agency has on file.
The announcement comes as a relief for Peralta-Cerda, who teaches at Chicago’s Marquette Elementary School, and who has a work permit that expires May 13.
But another concern looms for Peralta-Cerda and thousands of other “Dreamers” — a nickname based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in November over the future of DACA, and legal experts say a ruling could be handed down at any time. If the court allows the Trump administration to end the program, and if the administration moves to take that step, deportations are possible.
“I love the kids I’m teaching. … It’s really scary. I’m nervous what they will decide. I feel like I’m in a state of limbo,” Peralta-Cerda said.
Worries about the ruling have deepened in the health care community as the nation battles COVID-19. In a letter sent to the Supreme Court on Friday, 27,000 health care workers who are also “Dreamers,” including medical students, physician assistants and doctors, asked the court not to end the program during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Termination of DACA during this national emergency would be catastrophic,” the letter states.
Jonathan Lopez, a communication manager for Partnership for College Completion, a nonprofit that advocates for equity in higher education, has been helping friends renew their work permits. Lopez, a DACA recipient, has seen firsthand the role immigrants are playing in the coronavirus response.
“I’ve helped out a lot of schoolteachers and nurses, some of them work at hospitals,” said Lopez, 32, a resident of Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. “They are taking care of people.”
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