Several speakers shared their experiences with DACA, a program whose fate could soon be determined by an appeals court.
Reyna Valdivias, a recent graduate of Nevada State University (NSU), shared that despite having a degree in business administration, she works with her father in gardening and construction.
This is because 12 years after its creation, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains in legal limbo and closed to new applicants, preventing many immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children from obtaining work permits and pursuing their desired careers.
In 2017, when former President Donald Trump’s administration attempted to phase out DACA applications, Valdivias, a member of the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road Nevada, had just turned 18 and was too young to apply. Although DACA was reinstated in 2020, new applications were not accepted.
“I am a 110-pound girl lifting wheelbarrows that weigh more than my own weight,” Valdivias stated at a press conference on Monday at the Make the Road Nevada office in Las Vegas, marking the program’s anniversary. DACA was originally created to “provide temporary protection against deportation and access to other opportunities, including work eligibility” for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
“You might think the physical cost is the hardest part, but it’s not. The hardest part is the emotional stress that comes from living in fear that one day my older brothers, my parents, and I could be deported from the country.”
Bernardo Sanchez, another Make the Road Nevada member and NSU student majoring in business administration, shared that growing up, he had many aspirations like becoming a Navy SEAL or obtaining a private pilot’s license or a real estate license. Sanchez stated that these dreams were quickly dashed due to his legal status.
The speakers mentioned they had an uncertain future and urged President Joe Biden to take action to help DACA recipients, such as exploring ways to modernize and strengthen the DACA program. Their calls came a day before Biden issued an executive order to offer deportation protection to spouses and children of U.S. citizens without legal status.
Several speakers mentioned during the press conference that they faced challenges enrolling in DACA due to age restrictions or the total block on new DACA applications.
Mariana Sarmiento, a DACA recipient, undocumented individual, and higher education professor, pointed out that many students in Nevada graduate with degrees but without work authorization, meaning they cannot be legally employed even amid the “severe shortage of healthcare professionals and education specialists in our state.”
Sarmiento emphasized that “DACA families are here today because we reject a future where our families are torn apart. And we reject a future where students are barred from accessing jobs and opportunities for growth.”
Michael Kagan, a law professor at UNLV and director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic, noted that while he is not an immigrant himself, he has lived in Las Vegas for less time than many of the undocumented individuals who spoke at the press conference.
Kagan emphasized that issues related to DACA recipients are “not a matter of being Democrat or Republican,” and he wants students to worry about their next job interview, not whether their family can stay together.
Kagan also stressed that “the only potential cure for everyone would have to go through Congress,” but there are “things the president can do immediately.”
