Over the past 12 years, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy has allowed hundreds of thousands of people — including more than 5,000 in South Carolina like me — to live and work in the only country we know as home. Thanks to DACA, I have been able to chase my dreams, become the first in my family to graduate from college and pursue a career in fashion design while being a community leader. However, DACA was always a temporary fix, and its success, along with the Biden administration’s new Keeping Families Together process, which would have given me a pathway to permanent protection, is again under attack.
On Thursday, opponents will spend the day before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans arguing against DACA, and arguments against the Keeping Families Together process are forthcoming as well.
It is a perfect storm for anyone worried about former President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport and separate millions of families in 2025. This fear could become a reality and a nightmare for my family and many more. The Keeping Families Together process and DACA policy have been and continue to be some of the most important lifelines available for millions of individuals who have lived, worked and contributed to the United States.
Launched earlier this year, the Keeping Families Together parole-in-place process is meant to help keep families like mine together, allowing hundreds of thousands of people who have lived in the United States for an aver.