Rhode Island to Pay DACA Recipients’ Renewal Fees

The state of Rhode Island will cover every Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient’s renewal fee, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Monday. The move comes amid President Trump’s efforts to repeal DACA—the program allowing some undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to remain in the country for two years, after which they must renew their DACA status. The renewal fee costs $495 and, per Raimondo, Rhode Island will cover all renewal fees, using more than $170,000 in contributions from individual donors and advocacy organizations. Some organizations have also volunteered to provide free legal services to DACA recipients, the governor’s office said in a statement.