Loans Available for DACA Applicants in Washington State

"Immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children and are looking to stay in Skagit County through the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will now be able to get some financial help.  North Coast Credit Union will provide about $250,000 in microenterprise loans to offset the $465 DACA application cost, which can be a significant hurdle to applying for deferred action, supporters say.  The federal DACA program allows eligible [unauthorized] immigrants who were brought to the United States as children to apply for two-year, renewable work permits, if they meet certain requirements.  The North Sound Alliance, a coalition of faith, labor and education organizations which includes the Skagit Immigrant Rights Council, announced the pilot program to a crowd of supporters at the St. Charles Catholic Church in Burlington Tuesday night.  After sealing the deal with a handshake, the credit union’s Chief Operating Officer Marilyn Brink said as a mother and grandmother, it’s important for her to see young people using their gifts to their full potential.  “We are very, very proud to be part of the solution,” she said. “It’s the right thing to do.”  The program will offer one-year loans with an interest rate of 9 percent, plus a financial education program for the borrowers." - Skagit Publishing, Feb. 27, 2013.