Washington, D.C.— Yesterday, United We Dream (UWD) member from Arizona, Alondra and Deputy Director of Federal Advocacy, Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, were featured in CQ Roll Call to discuss the limitation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
During the past 11 years, DACA has been attacked in the courts by MAGA Republicans. Currently, we await Judge Hanen of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas to make a ruling on the Texas v United States DACA case, which would impact millions of American families and communities.
The article cites that due to these lawsuits “the majority of the nation’s approximately 120,0000 undocumented high school graduates this year are not eligible for DACA because of the cutoff date. And by the class of 2025, most graduates will not have been born in time.” The instability and limitations of the DACA program illustrate an urgent need for President Biden and Congress to pass permanent legislation to address people like Alondra who have had to live without protections as well as immigrants who continue to be in limbo.
Alondra, United We Dream member, said:
“That is where I kind of realized what my situation was — that I was actually undocumented and in a very vulnerable position…Obviously I want to get an education. But it’s really hard trying to choose [a major] when I don’t even know if I would be able to be financially stable using it.”
Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Deputy Director of Federal Advocacy of United We Dream, said:
“There will be an entire generation coming into the workforce and having to work in the shadows again…They grew up thinking that they were going to have access to these benefits, and they don’t. And they don’t have any other recourse.”
