DACA forum sparks discussion on uncertain future
Briseyda Amador was 2 years old when her parents moved from Mexico to Oklahoma City in 2000.
The Dove Science Academy senior has set goals that include being the first in her family to graduate from high school and college.
Those plans, however, are on hold for Amador, 18, one of nearly 7,500 undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma who could lose deportation protections found under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, unless Congress acts by March 5.
“My goal is always been to make my parents proud, and I know their goal has always been to keep me happy,” she said Monday night during a public forum on the program sponsored by The Oklahoman. “I need to make them proud.”
“And I know they call us dreamers, but our parents are the original dreamers. They came here with a vision and they came here with a dream.”
About 30 people attended the forum at the OCCC Capitol Hill Center in south Oklahoma City. The first in a series of Instant Reaction conversations was moderated by The Oklahoman reporter Ben Felder and featured four panelists, including Amador.
Last week, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced an “orderly wind down” of the program that allows children brought to the United States illegally to stay without fear of deportation. It also provides a path to employment and higher education.
President Donald Trump campaigned on ending the program, which was put in place by an executive order under former President Barack Obama in 2012.
In Oklahoma, 7,488 undocumented residents have been accepted for DACA, according to a March report from the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services. Oklahoma ranked 25th out of all states in total number of DACA applications processed.
Many of those undocumented residents have only known a life in the United States, including Amador.
“We’re not here to take anything from anyone, we’re here to be part of the community,” she said. “We’re not here to hurt anyone; we’re here to take care of each other.”
DACA does not provide a path to citizenship and advocates for the program have urged Congress to act on larger immigration reform.
Panelist Jessica Vasquez of DREAM ACT Oklahoma is among them. She called for a permanent solution.
“We want legislation that’s going to protect the youth but not hurt our families,” she said. “I’m not going to sign up for citizenship if you’re going to deport my dad.”
Several lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, have expressed support for retaining DACA, or enacting similar legislation.
“This is where the voice of the people will have a really profound impact,” said panelist Chris Brewster, superintendent of Santa Fe South Schools in south Oklahoma City.
Brewster said Congress is “backed into a corner” to act.
“It’s important that we keep that pressure on them,” he told an audience that included online viewers. “Annoy the heck out of your congressman.”
Brewster’s charter school program serves more than 3,000 mostly Hispanic students in south Oklahoma City. He said he has talked to U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, about the topic on several occasions.
“I was very clear that our dreamers need to be protected,” Brewster said. “He knows that we are pressing into this issue and I want everyone to be doing the same thing.”
“Sign the postcards, make the phone calls, be relentless, and they will have to respond. “We don’t want you to go back in the shadows; we want you to be a bright light.”
Vasquez said 25 percent of DACA recipients take jobs in education or health care.
“Those jobs are vital,” she said. “Why would we want to take those jobs away from people who are helping their community?”
Panelist Ryan Patterson, an immigration attorney, said the DACA process is a complicated one that has resulted in “a lot of uncertainty” for those affected.
“The fear is definitely there and it’s definitely growing,” he said.