For many of us school has started. This means doing homework, working on internships, staying up all night to study.
You get to meet new classmates, join clubs and get involved with events on campus. Everything is new and exciting. Your worries and thoughts are on completing homework and passing exams.
For some, however, their worries are on being unprotected. They have to worry about not having the life they want. About not making the money they need to survive.
"I knew I wasn't born in the United States but I never imagined how complicated that would make my life," Rocio Rodarte said.
Originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, Rodarte came to the United States with her grandfather at the age of five. Her parents remained in Mexico and wanted Rodarte to go to America. She was living with her aunt and uncle when her parents wanted her to come back to Mexico a few years later. They had second thoughts about letting her stay in America because they felt life would be too difficult for her. She decided to stay despite her parents' thoughts.
Oscar Gonzalez Sorianol also came here from Mexico when he was just six years old. After his mother passed away, his uncles brought him here to America. Suffering complications at birth, his uncles brought him so he could get any medical treatments he would possibly need. His aunt flew him to Los Angeles so he could get an operation on his leg because one nerve was shorter than the other.
"I thank them for what they did because, if it wasn't for them, I would have stayed in Mexico with no help or treatment," he said.
These two share one very important thing. They are both part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. Started in 2012 by former President Barrack Obama, the program gives children brought illegally into this country a reprieve from deportation for two years.
The recipients are expected to have their high school diploma, a GED, be honorably discharged from the military or still be in school. They must not have a criminal record of any kind.
This past Tuesday President Donald Trump announced he would be rescinding DACA. He also tweeted to Congress that it was time for them to do their jobs in regards to immigration and the DACA program.
In a statement he released, President Trump says "...In June of 2012, President Obama bypassed Congress to give work permits, social security numbers, and federal benefits to approximately 800,000 illegal immigrants currently between the ages of 15 and 36... The temporary implementation of DACA by the Obama Administration, after Congress repeatedly rejected this amnesty-first approach, also helped spur a humanitarian crisis – the massive surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America including, in some cases, young people who would become members of violent gangs throughout our country, such as MS-13... Only by the reliable enforcement of immigration law can we produce safe communities, a robust middle class, and economic fairness for all Americans."
Former President Obama also had a lot to say on Facebook about DACA.
"Immigration can be a controversial topic. We all want safe, secure borders and a dynamic economy. And people of goodwill can have legitimate disagreements about how to fix our immigration system so that everybody plays by the rules. But that’s not what the action that the White House took today is about. This is about young people who grew up in America. These Dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper... Some 800,000 young people stepped forward, met rigorous requirements, and went through background checks... Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision and a moral question," he wrote.
UndocUnited is an organization that helps undocumented students navigate college. Many members, who have chosen to stay anonymous, had a lot to say on this issue.
"Having the privilege of maintaining DACA status since high school has opened up many doors for me. Growing up I have always feared leaving everything I have grown to love. I worried that I would not get to work, get my driver's license, and apply to college in high school... If DACA were to be rescinded, I may have to leave school, not be able to afford to live on my own and have to leave the country I have grown to be a part of and call my own," says a University of South Florida sophomore.
Another member agrees DACA should be terminated.
"...I hope the president does terminate DACA but allows the legislative branch a period of time to develop a path to citizenship. I am tired of having to pay 500 dollars every two years to renew DACA. And for what? Nothing. I am tired of constantly living with the fear of when DACA ends, I will be deported... Many dreamers will not agree with my point of view. I understand. It hurts me to see the country that I would die for reject me. But what can we do? Nothing but hope that the government does what it should have done years ago."
Current DACA recipients are safe until March 5. President Trump has given Congress six months to figure out a plan.
Even still, many fear for DACA's end.
Benjamin Mondaca and his brother came to the United States from Chile in 2002. Their parents and they stayed after their visas expired. His brother applied for DACA in 2012 and Mondaca recently applied this past April.
Mondaca says he would be terrified if DACA ends.
"I would not feel safe because I feel like if I didn't have it they could come to my home and can deport me and my family. And IF we made the decision to hide from getting deported, we would not like to live like that. I mean, who would?"
Laura Piña came from Mexico in 2004 and applied for DACA in 2012. She works as a birth registration specialist at Bethesda Memorial Hospital. She feels her whole world would be over without DACA.
"I'm currently in school. It would mean the world because I won't be able to work and pursue my dream of becoming a doctor. I have only 1 class to get my associates degree and after that, I was thinking of getting my bachelors but now I don't know if I can."
For many, having DACA means they can be a part of this community and try to better their lives. Without it, they feel powerless and unprotected. Like a chance for a better life is no longer possible.
"Without DACA it's hard to be involved in a society who believes that a number defines you. Without DACA, myself and the people who have stepped out in order to achieve their dreams and be ambitious to better their lives will live in fear of being taken away from the country we were raised in," Rodarte said.
