How President-elect Donald Trump's decisions will affect the status of thousands of DACA holders in Arizona.DACA holders in Arizona are uncertain about their legal status and fear that the sentiments surrounding SB 1070 will return, while universities and legal experts are trying to develop a viable solution for what they predict is the impending end of the program. President-elect Donald Trump has said he will eliminate President Obama’s executive order regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA. Trump has mentioned this would be one of his priorities during his first 100 days in office and it is yet unknown what it would mean for the nearly 742,000 DACA applicants around the country, also known as ‘Dreamers.' In Arizona alone, there are roughly 46,000 Dreamers, not including individuals who are in the middle of the application process. It is feared that Trump’s administration could use the information provided by applicants against them, making them targets for deportation, but that is not the only potential outcome. DACA holders are also at risk of losing their in-state tuition, their work permit, their driver’s license, and it’s uncertain what would happen to those who were able to buy a house because of the program. “Consider the DACA program death,” said immigration lawyer Daniel Rodriguez to an audience of concerned young Dreamers, parents and activists during a talk his firm organized about the tentative future of DACA. “I wish I was wrong. I was wrong when I thought Trump was going to lose, so I hope I am wrong again,” he added. The room filled with questions. Rodriguez tried to be careful enough not to scare the audience, but he made sure he wasn’t giving them any false hopes. He understood what people felt because he once had DACA too. He got his green card after he married a US citizen. The lawyer first addressed the immediate fear: deportation. Rodriguez assured it was a possibility, but said he personally didn’t expect Dreamers to be a priority for deportation. The expert said he didn’t know if immigration authorities were going to use DACA applicants’ information to go after them, but he mentioned that was “always a risk.” Rodriguez encouraged people who already have DACA to apply for renovation, “the only thing you would lose would be your $465 if DACA is cancelled because the government already has your information,” he said. But he advised something different to those who were planning to apply for the first time. “I wanted to get DACA for my kid, but I don’t know if I should,” said a woman who was sitting with her son in the front row. “If it’s your first time, I would advise you that you didn’t,” Rodriguez answered. DACA gave relief to many young people whose lives were transformed drastically when they were able to get a job, go to college and stop worrying about being deported. For 25-year-old Gerson Gonzalez, having DACA meant getting "a better job." Gonzalez was already in college when DACA was signed by Obama. He got a Fulbright scholarship and was able to pay for school, but he worked as a gardener to pay for his other expenses. When he got DACA, he could apply for a part time job and receive a better salary. The young Dreamer majored in criminal justice at Grand Canyon University, and even though he is optimistic about finding other opportunities in Mexico if he was deported, he said he would be disappointed if he wasn’t able to work in his field of study. “Of course I would feel bad (if I was deported), I have an illusion of working as a correctional officer one day,” Gonzales said. “I am one of those people that likes to protect others, I would give my life to protect someone that can’t defend themselves. I think that’s why I’m not so worried about myself, because I’m more worried about the community,” he added. Gonzalez currently works at Home Depot because he needs to be a resident or a U.S. citizen to apply for a job as a correctional officer, but he is not losing hope. For others, the news hasn’t hit them yet. Carla Chavarria, a 23-year-old Dreamer and entrepreneur, hasn’t thought too much about the possibility that the government would use her information against her because she thinks Trump hasn’t been clear about what he’s going to do. “I’m still trying to figure out what it all means and I think until I hear something it will all click and I’ll know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I know what it means, but I think internally it just hasn’t hit me still,” she said. “I still don’t know (what I’d do),” she added. As Chavarria meditated on her current reaction to Trump’s victory, she said that not worrying about it too much is also normalizing what Trump might do. “I myself (am) aware that I need to do something, that I need to have these conversations, but I don’t think I have been ready to do that,” she said. Chavarria has her own fitness apparel line and is now starting a podcast about Latino Millennial issues. She attended a radio training at NPR and hopes she will get her podcast on their platform soon, if her circumstances don’t change. Because of DACA Chavarria was able to attend college with a lower tuition, a benefit those who are currently in college might lose, which would force many to drop out. Other Dreamers like Yesenia Ramales, 24, who’s had DACA for the past four years, are already starting to plan ahead. Ramales said she knew this day would come and DACA never seemed like a permanent solution to her, but she’s not letting fear rule her life. “I’m speaking to lawyers and seeing what really are the possibilities that I’ll one day be deported, but, I’m not letting the fear win. I’m not letting fear stop me from getting out of bed, and I’m not letting it keep me from my dreams. I’ve always had them, and God has let me come this far, I don’t think he’ll desert me now,” she said. But some members of the Republican Party in Arizona think that immigration measures such as the DACA program need to be approved by Congress, even if that means reversing what has already been granted to thousands of young kids. “We need to respect everybody who’s here today, young people, people of mid-age and even our elderly, especially the ones that have been here working and providing for their family for many years," said Alberto Gutier, a member of the Republican Party and one of the 11 electors in the state of Arizona that make up the electoral college for presidential elections. "But that has to be with president-elect Trump and Congress working together to come up with a solution for it,” he added. However, for 24-year-old Ramales, not having DACA and waiting for an immigration reform to be approved by Congrees would mean being unemployed and not being able to open a bank account or having a driver’s license. Ramales is currently working at an immigration office helping children coming from Central America as refugees, and although she isn’t a student herself, she expressed strong support for students who are concerned about their safety. But these Dreamers are not alone. The academic community didn’t take too long to take a stance once Trump’s victory was announced. Just days after election day, a letter addressed to Arizona community colleges and public universities started circulating the Internet, asking faculty members to sign it and “reaffirm their commitment to diversity by ensuring the safety and security of all our students, specifically DACA students.” Dr. Lockard, an ASU English professor, and one of the promoters of the initiative, said he hopes the whole community will come together in support of the DACA students. Unlike Rodriguez, Dr. Lockard believes the DACA students will be a target for deportation if Trump is not able to meet his “high quota” of 2 to 3 million “criminal alien” removals, a number that Dr. Lockard said is “a myth.” “They will come after, at least in my view, those who they can reach most easily, those who have registered- the DACA students. So, I see them as under imminent threat,” he said. According to Dr. Lockard, universities can’t act as “legal shields” against the federal government, but what they can do is make sure their students complete their education. “The university can provide legal counseling and resources. The university can make those visible, well announced, well advertised. The university can concern itself with providing financial support where those students lose it because they no longer have DACA status,” Dr. Lockard explained. A similar spirit was expressed by ASU President Michael Crow on Thanksgiving eve in a statement he shared with the academic community.
“If DACA is eliminated, we will rise to the challenge,” he said in his letter. “If students lose the status that makes them eligible for in-state tuition, ASU will convene and engage the community on this issue to seek financial support for the continued study of students at ASU who graduated from Arizona high schools and who are qualified to attend the state universities -regardless of their immigration status,” he explained. President Crow mentioned ASU has already talked to TheDream.US “about using the private dollars that they raise to secure scholarships for DREAMers who have lost their DACA status, should that occur.” However, if DACA is cancelled that would still mean many young students that are not in college right now and haven’t applied for DACA will have a hard time enrolling in college in the future. “I think the university has a special role to play as a mobilization to ensure that everyone living in the United States has an opportunity to continue their education,” Dr. Lockard said. Despite the uncertainty and the risks that are ahead, Chavarria is sure the community won’t let go without a fight. Remembering the mobilizations and the community support during SB 1070 and even during the Dreamers movement in 2012, she thinks people will have to continue doing what they have done for so long, fight. “I know that we have to continue fighting and being together as a community, more than ever, whether you are from this organization, or that organization, we have to figure out a way or a plan to fight this, so I’m just excited and willing to be part of that again,” Chavarria said.
1 Comment
2/15/2018 04:27:47 am
great work man i would like to congratulate you on this effort
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