Modesto-area Dreamers welcome high court ruling but still worry about deportation
Thousands of young immigrants in the Modesto area got a reprieve with last week’s high court ruling preserving the Dreamer program.
But they warned that President Donald Trump could try again to end it and to start the process for deporting them.
The program, formally the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, covers immigrants who were children when their parents entered the United States illegally.
President Barack Obama created DACA through a 2012 executive order. Backers said these young immigrants committed no crimes themselves and are contributing to U.S. society through study and work.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday, June 18, that Trump did not follow the proper procedure in trying to end the program. The 5-4 decision did not deal with the merits of DACA itself.
A few of the protected people spoke Friday on a Zoom news conference organized by Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock.
“It’s not about politics anymore,” said Polet Hernández, a Dreamer who is coordinator of DACA services at California State University, Stanislaus. “It’s about our lives. It’s about the trauma that has been inflicted on our communities because of this issue.”
About 10,000 in 10th District
Harder said DACA affects about 10,000 residents of his district, which takes in Stanislaus and southern San Joaquin counties. He won his seat in 2018 from Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, who also was sympathetic to the Dreamer cause.
“The Trump Adminstration is playing roulette with people’s lives,” Harder said.
Gabriela Canchola said DACA allows her to study political science at Modesto Junior College, with the goal of becoming an immigration attorney.
“As a childhood arrival, for the longest time I didn’t consider myself anything but an American,” she said. “It’s what I knew.”
MJC counselor Ariana Gonzalez said about 70,000 undocumented immigrants attend this and other community colleges in California. Some of them texted her after last week’s ruling.
“I have a student who said that he feels like he can breathe for the first time,” she said. He is majoring in math and physics.
MJC has its own office in support of undocumented students.
Trump plans to keep trying
Trump tweeted after the ruling that he would continue to seek an end to DACA. No formal action was announced as of midday Monday.
Critics had questioned Obama’s legal basis for creating DACA, which now covers about 650,000 people. Trump has also claimed that it is part of an overall immigration system that undermines the economy and public safety.
“These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives,” the president said.
Democrats hope to make the program permanent by ousting Trump in the November election and also capturing the U.S. Senate.
Lawmakers in both parties have said this could be part of a package that includes border security, temporary workers for agriculture and other sectors, and a path to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
