Tom Kisken | Ventura County Star
From nurses in Oxnard to a pharmacy employee from Simi Valley, workers across Ventura County at least temporarily lost jobs because of delays in a federal immigration program for people who came to the United States as children without authorization.
Union officials, immigration lawyers and others said an alarming renewal slowdown in the 14-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – known as DACA – means work permits are expiring. Employers are being forced to lay off people or place them on unpaid leave.
People who saw their protections expire include two nurses at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, said Leo Perez, president of the nurses’ union, SEIU 121RN. They were told they can no longer work until their authorizations were restored, he said.
One of the nurses was rehired in June after her DACA protections were extended. Union officials reported on July 1 the other nurse’s work permit has also been approved, meaning he’s expected back at work soon.
Other DACA recipients remain out of work and in limbo. They came to the country as young children, completed their schooling and found good jobs. Now, they fear the expired protections make them vulnerable to being detained or deported, said union leader Perez.
“You offer this hope and suddenly you shut the door,” he said, adding there is little employers can do except bring workers back if their protections are restored.
The nurses declined interviews because of fear the attention would put them at risk. A spokesperson for St. John’s parent company, Dignity Health, also did not respond to requests for comment.
‘Safeguarding America’
The DACA program started in 2012 through an executive action by President Barack Obama. It deferred deportation risks and provided work permits to immigrants who were brought here as children, enrolled in schools and met other requirements.
DACA has repeatedly been targeted by President Donald Trump’s administration. In January 2025, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal court’s 2021 ruling in Texas that the program is unlawful but stopped short of dismantling it. The appellate ruling was limited to Texas, meaning people in California could still renew their DACA status.
No new applicants are being accepted into DACA. Federal data shows about 495,000 people were protected by the program as of Dec. 31. California had more DACA recipients than any other state with about 138,000 people.
The program was pitched initially as a temporary stopgap and has never offered permanent protection. People have to reapply every two years.
Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency showed the median renewal time from October to April is about three months, compared to a range of two weeks to two months over the previous five years. A spokesperson responded to questions about renewals by citing an intensified review process.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, USCIS is safeguarding the American people by more thoroughly screening and vetting all aliens,” Zach Kahler said in an emailed statement. “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.”
Union: County employees affected
Immigration lawyers said the delays can last several months in a slowdown that started late last year. Gabriella Navarro-Busch, a Ventura attorney, said about 25 of her clients have been affected by the delays. About half of them lost jobs temporarily.
Some have been laid off. Some have been told by employers they can return to work as soon as their work permits are renewed, she said.
In addition to St. John’s hospital in Oxnard, employers forced to take action against workers with expired protections include the County of Ventura, said Carson Acosta, regional director of Tri-Counties SEIU 721 union.
“It’s hard to put a number on it,” he said. “We’ve had several people reach out from Ventura County.”
The county employs more than 10,000 people in 25 different agencies. Spokesperson Natalie Hernandez acknowledged the work force includes people protected by DACA.
“While we are aware that federal processing times can affect renewal timelines, we do not comment on personnel matters,” she said.
‘Not asking for special treatment’
Some people who have lost jobs or worry about work permits nearing expiration declined to talk. A Simi Valley woman spoke on the condition of anonymity, expressing fears DACA protections that expired in February leave her vulnerable to deportation.
She’s a student at Moorpark College and the loss of her work authorization means she was terminated from a pharmaceutical apprenticeship that helped pay for her education.
“I’m not asking for special treatment,” she said. “I just want this work program not to be dismantled.”
David Gonzalez, 31, of Oxnard, has been protected by the DACA program since 2013. He came to the United States from Mexico City with his family when he was 9.
He still feels ties to Mexico, but his home is Oxnard.
“I’ve rooted my life here,” he said. “I want to buy a home here. I want to have kids here. I want to grow my life here.”
He applied for DACA renewal in October and was still waiting in April when his protections expired.
“If I had been arrested by immigration, I didn’t have that protection,” he said. “I felt like I was looking over my shoulder every day.”
He runs a photo booth company and works part-time in marketing, contracting out his services to other companies. His income wasn’t impacted by his lost protections because he’s self-employed.
Gonzalez’s renewal finally came through in June. He’s part of a chat group filled with others who applied for renewals as long as eight months ago. Some have lost jobs and can’t pay their mortgages.
Dramatic rise in cases
Some of the people facing renewal delays have turned to federal legislators for help. Officials of SEIU 121RN said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, advocated for a nurse who lost her work permit and her ability to work at St. John’s in Oxnard.
U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, said her office has seen an 80% jump in cases related to DACA, many involving the loss of jobs.
”The increase has been dramatic, and DACA-related cases now account for nearly half of our immigration casework,” she said.
Perez, the union president and a nurse in Pomona, said he came into the United States without authorization at the age of 5. His mother, who was already in the country, sent for him.
It was before DACA. Perez gained legal status through an amnesty program that was part of President Ronald Reagan’s immigration reform efforts.
Perez noted that like him, DACA recipients came to the United States because of a decision their families made.
“This is not their fault,” he said, noting they built their own families and lives. And now their protections are being put in jeopardy.
“All of a sudden you shut the door and leave them in an abyss of darkness and uncertainty,” he said.
This story was originally published by the Ventura County Star on July 2, 2026.
Issues: 119th Congress, Immigration