Young people protesting in San Francisco in 2017. Source: Wikipedia

By Melissa Reyes ‘21

The Trump Administration had recently announced that DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) will be ending on March 5th. However Judge William Alsup blocked president Donald Trump’s efforts to shut down DACA, by allowing the program to accept renewal applications on January 9th. DACA is an important executive order passed by former president Barack Obama in 2012 that allowed undocumented immigrants who came into the United States as children to stay.

It is important to recognize that DACA only protects those under the age of 16 that came into the country, and living in the United States since June 15, 2007.

In Passaic High School, I was given the opportunity to speak to a student who is a Dreamer (those who benefit from DACA). While the individual desires to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, I was allowed to include their testimony in composing this article. The student was recently renewed by the program, but they stated that they worry if they will be able to renew their residency or not. The student sheds light on what it means to be a DACA student, showing how they want to contribute to American society without the fear of being deported.

While DACA may be able to stay in place so far, there is still fear lingering around about being discriminated against due to the fact they are an immigrant benefiting from the program. The program is important to the individual, the student declaring how “it gives me the opportunity to get a job and things like my license and a social number and protection for two years from getting deported.”