Only Here Podcast: Dulce Garcia Is Undocumented And On Center Stage

Dulce Garcia is undocumented, but her status has mostly fueled her ambition, not stifled it.

Garcia's an immigration lawyer. And she’s recently become one of the most high-profile immigrant advocates working on the border today. She's the latest guest on KPBS' border podcast, "Only Here."

Her own experience with the immigration system has been key to her career. A few years ago, Garcia became a plaintiff instead of a lawyer in one of the country’s biggest immigration cases.

She and other dreamers sued the Trump administration after its decision to end the federal government's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA. That’s the program that allows kids brought to the U.S. without paper many of the benefits of a citizen.

The case is still awaiting a Supreme Court decision. But the very existence of the lawsuit has allowed hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients to renew their status while the case remains open.

Recently, Garcia stepped up as the new executive director of Border Angels, an immigrant rights nonprofit based in San Diego. She’s bringing her legal experience to the role and the nonprofit is doing things it's never done before. A few months back, Border Angels posted its first bond and helped a Cameroon man seeking asylum get released from detention.

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