Central Coast DACA recipients to travel to Washington, D.C., advocating for permanent solution
Watsonville, a town known for its world-class strawberries, is also a place where people come to look for a better life.
Margarito Rodriguez did just that with his mother at age 5.
“When I crossed the border, I thought that every other border, every other wall was gonna, you know, be left behind. My life was going to be better. But unfortunately, there are a lot more borders to cross here in the U.S.,” said Rodriguez, a sophomore at Cabrillo College.
These new borders built from piles of paperwork seem just as difficult to cross.
“Our futures are basically uncertain. We don’t know where we are going. We have a goal as a Dreamer. We have a goal but then at the same time, we can’t reach that goal just because of a document?” said Cinthia Garcia, a Cabrillo College junior.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is former President Barack Obama’s signature immigration policy — one the Trump administration sought to upend last September.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped accepting applications and closed the renewal process the following month.
But late Tuesday night, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked Trump’s effort by allowing DACA recipients to renew their status, good for another two years.
The form for DACA renewal, however, is no longer available on the internet. Immigration attorneys recommend that applicants go to law offices, their respective consulates or nonprofit organizations that deal with immigration cases to access it. The filing should be done as soon as possible.
“Even though this judge went really forcefully for the court of the legal argument that protects the eligibility for these people to renew their application, that doesn’t mean his decision is irreversible,” immigration attorney Ariadna Renteria Torres said. “The government can appeal his decision and a higher court can overturn it.”
While some can take advantage of this temporary relief, many Cabrillo College students said it’s not enough.
And that’s why three of them are going to Washington, D.C., on Saturday to lobby for what’s called the “clean” DREAM Act.
“I think it’s enough that they are playing with our futures,” Garcia said.
“We need something more permanent. As of right now, they are juggling with our future and I don’t think that’s fair. We need clear guidelines (as to) what’s going to happen to us, are they going to protect us,” Rodriguez said.
Wednesday morning, the white house called the judge’s decision outrageous.
President Donald Trump also blasted the courts, saying on Twitter that the wall and DACA are a package deal.
