Fear Remains for Immigrant Youth as Federal Court Hands Trump Another Blow on DACA Repeal
April 25, 2018
By: Mark Keierleber
Source: The 74
The Trump administration had just announced its plan to phase out a program that protects some young undocumented immigrants from deportation when Melissa, a high school senior in New York, faced a tough decision.
Born in the Dominican Republic and brought to New York as a toddler, Melissa became a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient in the eighth grade. Dreamers, as DACA recipients are often called, must renew their status with the government every two years. Melissa, a senior at KIPP NYC College Prep in New York, began that process in November. With uncertainty surrounding DACA’s fate, however, Melissa wondered whether it was worth the effort to renew — or if her application could put her family at risk.