Coming Into Their Own: Day-to-Day Life for Mixed Status Families After DACA

Based on interviews with 100 members of Latino mixed-status families in the greater Los Angeles area, this paper sheds light on the various micro-level consequences of DACA as they play out for families. In concrete ways,... [ view full abstract ]

Based on interviews with 100 members of Latino mixed-status families in the greater Los Angeles area, this paper sheds light on the various micro-level consequences of DACA as they play out for families. In concrete ways, official state ID cards and work permits allow DACA recipients’ families to accomplish basic tasks like borrowing tools at home improvement stores and recycling aluminum cans to boost the family’s income. Along with a reprieve from fear of deportation, families gain independence and combat stigmatization produced in contemporary racialized illegality. The temporary improvements reveal the extent of illegality’s reach into families’ intimacy and well-being.

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