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Local 'Dreamers" get a rude awakening
DACA recipients react to announcement program will be phased out
By KELAN LYONS kelan.lyons@theeagle.com Sep 6, 2017
Protesters raise their hands while leading chants as the Dream March at Texas A&M makes its Buy Now
way past Academic Plaza on Wednesday, March 4, 2015.
Dave McDermand/The Eagle
Cinthya Guerrero cried the day she found out she was going to become a "Dreamer."
"I can't even explain it. I think I cried so much that day, I was so excited," said Guerrero, a
25 -year-old hairstylist who graduated from Bryan High School in 2010.
Guerrero came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 6. She had been pregnant when
she found out she qualified for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Becoming
a DACA recipient -- commonly known as a Dreamer -- meant she would be able to take
care of her new son without having to rely on government assistance. Her plan was to go
back to school, earn a degree and become a medical assistant for children.
But a Tuesday morning press conference in Washington, D.C., put that future in jeopardy.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday an end to DACA, created in 2012 through
an executive order issued by President Barack Obama that protects almost 800,000 young
undocumented immigrants nationwide from deportation and allows them to legally work for
two-year periods, after which they can reapply to the program. Those who wish to become
Dreamers must have been under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; have come to the
U.S. before their 16th birthday; be in school, or have obtained a high school degree or
GED; and not have been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor or three or more
other misdemeanors, among other qualifications. There are 121,000 Dreamers in Texas,
the second most of any state, according to the Pew Research Center.
"As president, my highest duty is to defend the American people and the Constitution of
the United States of America. At the same time, I do not favor punishing children, most of
whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we
are nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws," Trump said in a statement. The
president urged Congress to come up with similar legislation before DACA begins phasing
out March 5, 2018.
Those Dreamers whose permits expire between now and March 5 can apply for a two-
year renewal by Oct. 5. First-time applicants will be rejected, but those who already hold
DACA and work permits will continue to be a part of the program until those permits
expire.
Guerrero's permit expires in December, but assuming she is granted another, she will still
be a Dreamer until December 2019. She said her and her son's futures are now uncertain,
and that her now -4 -year-old son -- a U.S. citizen -- doesn't speak any Spanish.
"It makes me feel devastated," Guerrero said.
Speaking at the Justice Department on Tuesday morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions
said the DACA program was an "open-ended circumvention of immigration law through
unconstitutional authority by the executive branch."
Ten states -- including Texas -- threatened to sue the White House if the Trump
administration did not rescind the program by Tuesday, and Sessions said DACA was
unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny. According to a page on the Department of Homeland
Security's website, Trump faced a dilemma because of the unconstitutionality of DACA:
"do nothing and allow for the probability that the entire DACA program could be
immediately enjoined by a court in a disruptive manner, or instead phase out the program
in an orderly fashion."
U.S. Rep. Bill Flores called DACA "well intentioned" but an abuse of constitutional
authority, since the Constitution "clearly states that the legislative branch is responsible for
writing all laws; not the president."
"The decision to rescind this program now brings the important job of fixing our broken and
inadequate immigration system into focus for Congress to work out a legislative solution,"
Flores said. "When it comes to the Dreamers, those children and young adults who are
here through no fault of their own, I believe Congress should quickly find a solution to
ensure they can stay in the United States, which for many is the only home they know."
Felipe Hinojosa, associate professor of history at Texas A&M University, said the DACA
news left him "all torn up."
"It just breaks my heart," he said.
Hinojosa said that, aside from his emotional reaction to the news, he thought rescinding
DACA was an "irresponsible policy move."
There are various bipartisan bills that could replace DACA, a program that is popular
among both Democrats and Republicans. Hinojosa said he was not optimistic Congress
would come up with a legislative solution, but thinks it is up to citizens to "step up and
contact our representatives."
Hinojosa said it is unclear how many dreamers currently attend A&M, but "the spirit of
Aggieland would take a huge hit" if they could no longer attend the "global institution."
"You reed to have people from a variety of backgrounds that can have conversations
about the makings of a democracy," he said.
Jacquelyn Huff, associate professor of practice at Texas A&M University's Engineering
Academic and Student Affairs at the College of Engineering and a former high school
math teacher at Bryan High School, said she was disappointed to hear the news about
DACA. Huff said Dreamers were in an "impossible situation" and that she is "sure I've
known more [Dreamers] than I've realized."
Huff said local teachers' jobs is to serve their students as best as they can, regardless of
their citizenship status.
"Kids come to your classroom, and you're charged with teaching them, and it doesn't really
matter what their situation is," said Huff, who also is running for a position on the CSISD
school board.
Diana, a 20 -year-old who came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 8 and who asked
that her last name be withheld, said becoming a dreamer "gave me a feeling of finally
fitting in in this country."
"We just have the same dreams as everybody else. I'm just a normal person except for the
fact that I wasn't born here," she said.
Guerrero said she recently went to Houston to help care for victims of Hurricane Harvey.
She says that she considers herself a patriot, that the United States is "my country," but
she doesn't know what's going to happen now. She wants the public to know that
Dreamers can be anyone: hairstylists, doctors, neighbors, and they may be afraid of
identifying themselves because they "are still scared of saying they're Dreamers because
they're afraid of how people are going to judge them."
Guerrero said she had a hard time at work Tuesday. She said she put a smile on her face
for her customers, but she didn't eat lunch and spent a lot of time thinking about all the
years she has lived in America. Then she went back to the break room and did the same
thing as about five years ago when she found out she would become a Dreamer: She
cried.
"It was just heartbreaking that all of that stuff didn't matter," she said of all she has done
over the years since coming to the U.S. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I love
this country. This is my country"
Texas A&M president says 'Dreamers' welcome in Aggieland