Last week, a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, unlawful. Only individuals who got DACA as of July 16, 2021 can continue renewing. But no new applications are being processed.
Dreamers, as some DACA recipients have been labeled, said the ruling isn't surprising.
Marian Mata Garcia, a Dreamer and Oceanside resident, said she doesn't like to keep up with the news because of the toll it takes on her mental health.
"To continuously see the negative things people have to say ... " she said. "I have DACA, and I'm going to continue working, continue hustling, and working on my dreams. "
We last interviewed her in 2020 when she was a junior at UC San Diego. She has since graduated with her bachelors in science and global health and is back in Oceanside working on gaining clinical hours.
"I'm here doing whatever I can for myself, for my community, for my family, and I know I'm doing it with the best intentions so I'm just ... hopeful," she said.
She was brought to the U.S. by her parents at a young age and applied for DACA when she was 15. This protected her from deportation and allowed her to get a drivers license, work and go to college. But it doesn’t give her a way to get permanent legal status.
"We pay taxes, we're out here doing what everyone else is doing," she said. "It's kind of unfortunate that they keep trying to bring it down and say that the program is illegal and that it shouldn't have been made."
Josefina Espino, the office coordinator for the Dreamers Resource Office at Cal State San Marcos said, "They deserve to be able to think about their futures without having all of this on their shoulders ... They're here learning. They're getting an education. They want to do good. They want to have their careers. They want to provide for their families. And this is just something that's ... holding them back."
The center helps undocumented students with resources and immigration services.
"We have less and less students with with DACA status," Espino said. "What we're seeing more is students with no status. That don't have that protection from deportation. They don't have the work authorization. So it's really hard for them to just kind of ... survive."
While the office serves as a safe space for these students, Espino said the limitations make it hard for undocumented students trying to get an education and start a career.
"They're here with the hopes of getting their degree and advancing in their careers after they graduate," she said. "And many of them are not able to use those degrees because they don't have that work authorization, and they're forced to go back into jobs that don't pay them much, or they get taken advantage of. So it's really unfortunate to see that."
Diana Pliego with the National Immigration Law Center anticipates the ruling to be appealed unless Congress acts.
"We think that that's what's likely to happen. Because we're not gonna stop fighting back. We're not gonna just give up. And we're gonna keep fighting for all of the DACA recipients, and for those who have been locked out," Pliego said.
She said DACA could make its way to the Supreme Court, but for now the waiting continues.
