The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provides temporary
relief from deportation and legal work authorization for eligible undocumented
youth in the United States. This study investigates the factors that help or
hinder undocumented youth in applying for DACA. We focus on contexts of
reception to understand the determinants of DACA applications, as studies of
previous legalization programs indicate that the communities in which immigrants
live help shape application decisions. Our analysis shows that more
immigrant-serving organizations in a state translate into more applications,
that DACA implementation rates are not statistically significantly lower in
states with hostile policy climates, and that socioeconomic factors are most
significantly related to DACA applications. In identifying the collective
factors that influence applying to DACA, we demonstrate that the structural
opportunities and barriers present in receiving locales shape undocumented
youths’ decisions to regularize their immigration status, which has significant
implications for their resulting incorporation trajectories.
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