The day that Fernando Macias-Morales received his work permit from the U.S. government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was the day his life changed. Just ask his mother, Yanet. “I couldn’t believe it. He was crying. I was crying,” she recalls. Last summer, Puente undertook a major outreach effort to young people who could qualify for DACA. Puente partnered with Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto  as well as private attorney, David Pasternak, to hold information sessions in Pescadero, and help people gather and complete the complicated paperwork – for free. Under DACA, successful program applicants (all aged 30 or younger) are guaranteed the right to remain in the U.S for two years and work.  The paperwork must be renewed every two years. Fernando is one of 16 young people who applied for work permits under DACA this fall. So far, 10 of them have already been approved. Yanet says Fernando knew he was taking a risk by applying to DACA, which would essentially inform immigration authorities that he had been in the U.S. for most of his life. (Fernando was only two months old when his parents left Mexico. But his siblings are all legal residents, making his case particularly unfair.) But the 16-year-old knew it was his only chance to live a normal life. “In the … Continue reading 16 and legal: work permit changes Fernando’s life