Modesto-area immigrant advocates oppose Trump's decision on Dreamers
Advocates for immigrants in the Modesto area were disappointed Tuesday at President Donald Trump's decision to end a program protecting young people from being deported.
An estimated 25,000 people in the Northern San Joaquin Valley have been eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. President Barack Obama created it by executive order in 2012 for the children of parents who crossed the border illegally.
The decision was unfortunate given Trump's earlier hints that he might preserve the program, said Jose Rodriguez, president and CEO of El Concilio. The nonprofit works on immigration and other issues at offices in Modesto and three other cities.
"Over 90 percent of (Dreamers) are employed," Rodriguez said. "Many of them have started businesses. They have established roots here."
Carlos Barajas, 27, of Atwater, who works at El Concilio, entered the United States illegally when he was 3. His family came from Colima, Mexico, and he's relied on DACA to stay in the country.
"I didn't want to believe it," he said of Tuesday's news. "I didn't think it was going to happen. But today, it sunk in. The whole feeling I had before DACA is coming back little by little. ...
"I know we have a six-month gap. But what if it does happen? The fear of going back to a country I don't know. My family is not there. Who will I go back to? My family is here. ... It's stressful. It's very stressful."
Trump decided to end the program six months from now on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and vulnerable to court challenges. Some DACA critics said they sympathize with the 800,000 or so beneficiaries – known as Dreamers – but believe they should be governed by immigration laws approved by Congress.
Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, has urged a long-term extension of DACA as part of immigration reform that also includes border security, temporary foreign workers and an eventual path to citizenship.
Denham spoke on the issue earlier Tuesday on National Public Radio: "I think America wants its borders secure, but we also want to make sure Dreamers, who were brought here through no fault of their own, have a place in our country and can continue to add to the greatness of America."
DACA allows young immigrants to work and go to school as long as they are law-abiding. Some of them are at California State University, Stanislaus, which pledged Tuesday to help students and employees deal with the legal and emotional troubles they could face.
"We believe in and support our DACA students, who add great value to the Stan State community," President Ellen Junn wrote in an online message.
About 600 of the Dreamers attend the University of California, Merced, where Chancellor Dorothy Leland issued a statement denouncing the decision.
"These are hard-working, law-abiding, taxpaying young people who enrich our campus and community," Leland said. "Now is the time for action to ensure that these students will continue to receive the transformational educational experiences that they so richly deserve."
Solange Goncalves Altman, an attorney specializing in immigration law, pointed out that people have the ability to renew their work permits until Oct. 5, and they should not hesitate to come forward and get their applications on file.
She also pointed out that there is legislation out there "to give DACAs permanent resident status."
"We just have to wait and see what happens with it," she said. "There are people in Congress that are concerned about them and care about them and want to make it right."
This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Modesto-area immigrant advocates oppose Trump's decision on Dreamers."