Gov. Jay Inslee announced today that Washington state DREAMers will soon have assistance in paying the $495 application fee to apply for a two-year extension of their status in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Advocates recommend DREAMers mail their applications no later than October 3, 2017 to make sure they are received by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services by the October 5 deadline.

"Nearly 18,000 DREAMers call Washington state home, and the cruel actions of the Trump Administration threatens the ability of these aspiring young men and women to go to school or work," Inslee said. "This program will help lessen the financial impact on the DREAmers and their families."

The application fee for DREAMers will be covered by a private donation and administered through the Mission Asset Fund (MAF) in San Francisco. No state funds are being used for the application fees.

With the anonymous, private donation of $125,000, approximately 250 Washington residents will be eligible for DACA application fee scholarships.

Washington state has formed a DACA Renewal Coalition to implement the application fee donation program. The leading organizations of the Coalition will be the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), a legal services provider; the Washington Dream Act Coalition, a grassroots youth-led movement; the Mission Asset Fund (MAF), an organization that is currently providing scholarship funds to DACA recipients; and the state’s Office of Refugees and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA).

Earlier this month, Inslee wrote an op-ed on the repeal of DACA.

For more information or to apply for the scholarship, visit http://www.lc4daca.org.