Viridiana Martinez has been on the front lines in the debate over immigration reform, organizing protests and getting arrested in acts of civil disobedience. But when the president announced a policy allowing young people like her to temporarily avoid deportation, she was anything but elated.
"It's all political theater," said the 26-year-old who came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico when she was 6 and grew up in North Carolina. "For me, at this point, applying for deferred action would be like accepting that theater, and I can't do that."
The lukewarm responses of Martinez and other leaders of the so-called DREAMers movement come after they have spent months or even years traveling the country while openly declaring themselves "undocumented and unafraid." They have gotten themselves arrested, boldly given interviews to the press and allowed their pictures to be taken, and many are known to immigration authorities, who have taken no steps to deport them.
The policy shift announced by President Barack Obama in June provides a two-year protection from deportation to certain young people brought to this country illegally and the chance to apply for a work permit. Now the young activist leaders are deciding whether it's worth accepting a deal that falls far short of what they're asking for.
Some, like Martinez, are rejecting the program because its narrow scope doesn't provide a path to legalization or any security for their families. But others have decided to apply despite misgivings, lured by the chance to get a driver's license and qualify for in-state tuition in some states and to get a work permit.
Keish Kim, brought from Korea when she was 8, has been a vocal and active critic of a policy that effectively bars students who can't prove their citizenship or legal residency from attending Georgia's most competitive state colleges and universities. She's skeptical of the new program, but decided to apply.
"If I do get deferred action, I can legally work and help sustain my family financially," said the 21-year-old Syracuse University student. "That means a lot to a lot of undocumented families."
The government began accepting applications Aug. 15. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that as many as 1.7 million people could be eligible. By Oct. 10, about 180,000 people had applied and nearly 4,600 applications had been approved.
Throngs of young people have turned out at events nationwide where immigration lawyers have offered free guidance on completing applications. Still, some are concerned about signaling their presence to immigration authorities. And there are other obstacles: the $465 application fee and the extensive documentation required to prove eligibility.
Mohammad Abdollahi, 27, who grew up in Michigan after being brought here illegally from Iran at age 3, said he is concerned about applicants who might get rejected. The leader of many protests around the country said he doesn't plan to apply until the guidelines are more inclusive.
"Getting a work permit would help me," he said. "But I know there are so many other people who are not out and are not organizing that are not going to qualify or their applications are going to get rejected."
Many critics say the policy â€" which they contend falls short even as a stopgap measure â€" is a way for Obama to pander to the growing Latino voting bloc ahead of the elections.
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