According to the Sing Tao Daily in the United States, under President Obama’s executive order, the "Deferred Action for Parents of Americans" program (DAPA) is set to launch in May and is expected to benefit approximately 400,000 undocumented adults in the country.
As Obama’s time in office gradually diminishes, this high-risk program, regarded as his most ambitious and controversial, is treading on thin ice. Should authorities repeat the chaos that arose in the rollout of the healthcare reform in 2013, the new measures may end in failure.
The new measures will additionally incorporate approximately 30,000 individuals into the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" program (DACA), and applications will be accepted starting February 18.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects the initial 6 months of DAPA to attract 130,000 applications, which could represent a substantial new burden for immigration authorities that handle about 630,000 other applications each year.
A draft letter obtained by the newspaper from Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson indicates that implementing Obama’s executive immigration reform order would require the government to spend between $324 million and $484 million over the next 3 years. Authorities stated that the funding would mainly come from an application fee of $465 per person, thus avoiding the need for Congressional oversight. However, prior preparations have already incurred substantial costs, with new hires alone costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Although DAPA applications will primarily be submitted in writing, which differs from the complex website setup required for the healthcare reform, the volume of mailed applications will present a significant challenge. Authorities will need to hire 1,000 government employees and another 1,000 private contract employees, including hiring Morgan Stanley’s Dallas and Phoenix offices to assist with opening mail, scanning application forms, and depositing checks. The Treasury Department indicated on the 7th that related costs from last year were about $960 million.
