San Antonians who would be affected by the end of the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program say they are nervous about their futures, but they are also glad that the DACA program may finally be validated as a law, and not just a temporary executive order, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Seven Flores came to the U.S. illegally from Monterrey Mexico as a nine year old. He's now a 23 year old recent graduate of Texas A&M University and plans to become a teacher.
He says for him, the thought of being deported to a country he barely knows is less terrifying than it is for many of the other 'dreamers' he knows.
"At least I speak Spanish," he said. “I know people from the Philippines, they don’t speak the language. I know people from the Middle East, Central America, Asia, for them to be sent back to those countries would be almost like a death sentence.”
DACA was implemented by executive order by President Obama in 2012. The idea was to allow individuals who entered the country illegally as children, generally with adult family members, are not ‘lawbreakers,’ and should be granted the right to remain in the country (not citizenship or voting rights) if they do well in school and don’t violate any laws.
President Trump said today he will eliminate the program in six months, giving Congress the opportunity to pass the immigration reform bill it has been unable to pass over the past twenty years.
“Ending this program, as the Trump Administration has announced today, is not only a failure on humanitarian grounds, but also economically,” said U. S. Rep Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), who is a conservative Democrat and a leader of the dwindling ‘Blue Dog Coalition. “I will continue to fight to keep families together and to keep our American values strong while opposing the building of walls. We need a bipartisan comprehensive immigration approach to solve the challenges at our border and ensure that DREAMers have a place in the nation that they love. I call on my colleagues in Congress to act now and to stand up to protect families and the rights of everyone in our country.”
Flores says many people he knows are terrified by today’s decision, even though many expected it.
“A lot of them are nervous, specifically those who have other people depending on them economically.”
Flores also said he is pleased that the status of DACA recipients will finally be codified by Congress. As an executive order, it must be regularly renewed and does not have any force in law.
There are an estimated 120,000 people in Texas who are affected by today’s decision.
Texas has the second highest number of ‘dreamers’ in the country, behind California with about 200,000.