August 14, 2026
When Alma Mendoza Tlachi’s work permit expired while she waited for the federal government to process her renewal, she had to stop teaching her high school students and could not return to work over the summer or prepare her classroom for the new school year.
As a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipient, Mendoza Tlachi relies on an employment authorization document, or work permit, to legally work in the United States.
Mendoza Tlachi has paid to renew her work authorization every two years, as required, since she first applied for DACA in 2017 at age 16. But this year, processing delays caused her work permit to expire before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reviewed her renewal application, even though she filed nearly six months before it was set to expire. She said her previous renewal applications had all been processed in under one month.
“I constantly found myself wondering: ‘Will I be able to continue teaching? Will I be able to support my family? Will I be able to finish school?’ ” said Mendoza Tlachi at a press conference Thursday morning. She is a third-year Spanish language and literature teacher completing her master’s degree in education at Cal State Fullerton.
