A DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) beneficiary in Denver, Colorado, in the western United States, became the first person protected by that program to officially obtain a license for his business in the city. In doing so, he paved the way for the 17,000 DREAMers who like him live there.
On June 18, the Supreme Court’s June 18 blocked the Donald Trump administration’s plan to end DACA, which gives the nearly 800,000 U.S. DREAMers — immigrants who came to the United States without papers as minors– a break, because the program protects them from deportation since 2012. The ruling found Alejandro Flores-Muñoz co-owning two branches of Hawaiian seadfood store Stokes Poké in Denver. The food can also be ordered online, for delivery if it is a large order, or picked up at one of the two premises.
Mark Antonation reported on the story of Flores-Muñoz in the local Westword newspaper.
Alejandro Flores-Muñoz arrived from Mexico with his parents when he was seven years old. The three of them entered the United States without documents. Like a DREAMer, Flores-Muñoz has been, for most of his life, a citizen without papers proving his legal residency in the country, but he was able to apply for the status offered by the DACA program since 2012 and thus avoid deportation “to a country he barely remembers,” as Antonation writes.
In 2019, when he was 29, Flores-Muñoz asked the City of Denver to clarify the rules and requirements for granting business licenses because they were “confusing and contradictory,” Antonation reports.
As a DACA recipient, Flores-Muñoz’s ID card (his driver’s license) has a black bar on it that reads,”Not valid for federal identification, voting, or public benefit purposes.” Therefore, Flores-Muñoz, Antonation reports, had been told that he could not use his driver’s license as identification to apply for a business license at the city’s Department of Indirect Taxation and Licensing, as the license “is considered a public benefit,” according to 8 U.S. Code § 1621. And Colorado law HB06-1023 of 2006 requires local offices to “verify the lawful presence in the United States of each person 18 years of age or older who applies for public benefits, as defined in federal law.”
Flores-Muñoz asked the city why he could not apply for a business license, forthe first time in 2018.
Jamie Torres, director of the city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, recalls, interviewed by Antonation. “If individuals feel like they won’t be able to use their drivers’ license because of the black bar, then they feel like they have no other options,” she said.
But they did. The city’s Department of Excise and Licenses made the clarification: they taked the so-called DACA card –form I-766– as valid, which includes. an employment authorization. Applicants must also submit an affidavit of legal presence. Eric Escudero, the department’s communications director, confirmed this to the Westword reporter.
The clarification is reflected on this department’s website, in its FAQ section: “If I have DACA status, can I apply for a business license? Yes. One of the documents that is accepted to prove lawful status is Form I-766 (Employment Authorization Document).”
The City of Denver then held a public event at which Flores-Muñoz became, in 2019, the first DACA beneficiary to obtain a business license. They would also receive applications from other DACA beneficiaries like him.
In an Antonation’s piece that first outlined this story, Flores-Muñoz insisted that undocumented immigrants who do not enjoy DACA’s protection have even fewer options. “So he’d like to see the requirement for the affidavit of lawful presence removed and HB06-1023 repealed.”
Flores-Muñoz is one of about 150,000 dreamers living in Colorado, the journalist reports. When he was employed by a non-governmental organization, before becoming an entrepreneur, he had to pay $495 every two years to renew his DACA protection status –as it is valid as a two year work permit–. If he didn’t, he could lose his job.
June 18 Supreme Court decision found Flores-Muñoz without DACA coverage, for the time being. The report says that the deadline for its renewal expired because it came at a difficult time when he couldn’t afford to pay for it. But, at the same time, “his status as a legally licensed business owner gives him a certain amount of protection.”
The week before the court’s ruling, Flores-Muñoz and his partner had relaunched the Stokes-Poké drive-up kiosk at 5115 Morrison Road in Denver. By 2019, they had added a kiosk at 16 Mall Street.
About 5% of DACA’s beneficiaries in the United States are entrepreneurs or small business owners.
Alejandro Florez-Muñoz insists that the DACA program should become permanent, in order for the legal status of DREAMers to be stabilized. “Congress needs to put together a comprehensive bill that includes a path to citizenship.”
Journalist Jorge Cancino reports for Univision Noticias that many DREAMers celebrated the Supreme Court ruling, but are also immediately active in keeping their papers and permits up to date. They fear Donald Trump could attempt another action to eliminate DACA, although they are confident he won’t have enough time to do so.