After a ruling by a federal judge Friday, thousands of so-called Dreamers are celebrating a decision to fully restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA provides protections for young people who came to the U.S. illegally as children.
“I’m getting the chills just talking about it now, but it changes people’s lives forever,” Sandra Avalos said.
Avalos is a 2015 DACA recipient. She knows the difference it can make in a person’s life.
“Only because I was able to get DACA, my life changed now,” Avalos said. “I have a house, I am able to practice in my career. But also it changes it for my family, it changes it for my mom that I can also help her. It changes for my daughter that I can now give her a better life.”
According to the Migration Policy Institute, more than 300,000 people are eligible for DACA in Texas.
Eric Cedillo is an attorney and clinical professor of law at SMU.
“It gives these young people an opportunity to truly take advantage of the opportunities here in America,” Cedillo said. “More than anything else it will allow these young people who are applying for the first time to have a work permit, to have a social security number, in many states they’ll be allowed to of course get a driver’s license, things that we currently take for granted they’ll have an opportunity to do.”
Though President Donald Trump has opposed the program, Cedillo doesn’t expect a serious appeal from the administration.
“In terms of them appealing it, there probably isn’t a high priority for this administration as it leaves. You got a lot of other things going on. Things that they need to deal with before January 20th,” Cedillo said.
Late Monday, the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services updated its website saying they plan to abide by the judge’s ruling. You can find more details at www.uscis.gov.
“We’ll see if they adhere to the order of this federal district judge,” Cedillo said.
About 650,000 people are currently enrolled in the program.
For Avalos, it’s a start.
“We have always pushed for something that is more of a permanent solution,” Avalos said. “What do we mean by a permanent solution? Something that gives us a path not only to become a resident but to become a U.S. citizen.”
Despite the work left to do, she’s grateful for this progress.
“To finally have the opportunity to have DACA is to be able to have some of the goals and aspirations our parents had for us,” she added.