‘It’s truly being able to live.’ Relief, but uncertainty, for DACA recipients in NC
When Axel Herrera Ramos heard the U.S. Supreme Court had upheld his right to legally remain and work in the U.S., he was immediately filled with questions.
What were the logistics of the decision? Who did it apply to? And, had it really just happened?
Ramos, a recent Duke graduate who lives in Durham, is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient, meaning that though he came to the country unlawfully as a child, he will not face deportation and is eligible to work in the United States.
But in 2017, President Donald Trump announced his administration would be ending DACA protections, prompting several lawsuits questioning the legality of such a decision. NC Attorney General Josh Stein was among a number of state attorneys general to join in a lawsuit against the administration.
The Supreme Court agreed to review the case last year, and on Thursday ruled in a 5-4 decision against the administration, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing it had failed to “provide a reasoned explanation for its action.”
“The Dreamers were brought here as kids and want to help us make the United States a better place. Now they can do so without the fear of deportation,” Stein said about the decision in an emailed statement. “I am proud to have been part of the team that defended their right to stay in the United States legally.”
While Ramos said the decision has provided him with some “breathing room,” he now looks ahead to the 2020 election, and the impact it could have on him and other DACA recipients.
“Eventually, the Trump administration could just decide to do it again,” he said. “But is that feasible between now and November?”
For María González, the decision came as a surprise. The 21-year-old program coordinator in Raleigh said she had expected the court to side with the president, and when she read the decision, she started sobbing from relief.
“It felt surreal,” she said. “I’ve had DACA since 2014, and it has really been a lifeline for me and for my family.”
Maritzelena Chirinos, a 24-year-old program coordinator in Durham, said she hasn’t stopped crying since she learned of the decision, and plans to thoroughly read through the court opinions. Though she’s relieved by the decision, she added that if Trump is re-elected in November, it’s likely his administration could legally end DACA on a second attempt.
“I’m trying not to be a pessimist,” she said. “But this is our life. We’re always in limbo.”
González said growing up with parents who were in the country without authorization, she knew they were always able to make things work. But to her, DACA meant having the ability to choose the life she wanted to live.
“It means more than just surviving,” González said. “It’s truly being able to live.”
The decision
In the dissenting opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas agreed with the Trump administration, and claimed that DACA “was unlawful from its inception.” The administration had argued immigration policy is up to Congress.
Thomas added that the administration’s attempt to rescind DACA was made with the same authority as former President Barack Obama’s decision to create it, and questioned how one could be legal but not the other.
But Roberts said that the error was “procedural,” and that the administration’s failure to provide a “reasoned explanation” indicated a lack of consideration to “conspicuous issues” associated with DACA’s removal. He said the court could not uphold the decision, and that the administration “may consider the problem anew.”
Call to action, connection to protests
In a statement on Thursday, Siembra NC, a Greensboro-based immigrant rights group, responded to the decision by calling on DACA recipients to help in an effort to protect “everyone, not just a few of us.”
The Trump administration has been repeatedly criticized by some for its increased detention and deportation of immigrants, as well as its short-lived “zero tolerance” enforcement policy, which separated thousands of children from their parents at the southern border. Detention centers, whose conditions have been called dangerous by some lawmakers, advocates and activists, have held thousands of immigrants.
“It’s not enough to protect 700,000 of us. We all have family members who were left out of DACA, and we’ve got to fight for them too,” Maria Peralta, a Chapel Hill resident who graduated from Guilford College last month, said in the Siembra NC statement.
And among those who would otherwise be eligible for DACA protections, many have yet to obtain them. One month after the Trump administration announced its decision, the government stopped accepting first-time DACA applications.
“It’s like we’re in two different worlds,” Ramos said of his younger siblings, who have been unable to apply for DACA. He added he’s been able to navigate finding a job and other such things in ways they can’t.
In the wake of the decision, Ramos and others have looked to community organizing to secure longer-term protections for DACA recipients and other immigrants.
“DACA may be safe for now, but we know Trump wants to come for us, for our parents, our neighbors. That’s why we’re registering thousands of North Carolinians to vote, even though we can’t vote,” Mayra Vera, a property manager and mother of two in High Point, said in the Siembra NC statement.
“Ultimately, it’s November that’s going to decide whether DACA stays, or whether there’s going to be something beyond DACA,” Ramos said. “And more than anything, it’s about what it means for my family and my siblings.”
Chirinos emphasized that the future of DACA recipients and other immigrants rests in the hands of a broader movement.
“Yes, this is our fight, but this is something that we can’t do on our own,” she said. “And just like with the Black Lives Matter movement, all of our liberations are connected. We all have to try to figure out what to do next, and fight alongside each other.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 1:47 PM.