Dreamers praise DACA decision, but say more work is left

For more than three months, Astrid Silva has grudgingly carried out a new routine: Waking up at 5:30 a.m. to check if she can still legally work and live in the only home she’s known since childhood.

Silva, founder of Dream Big Nevada, is perhaps Las Vegas’ most well-known participant in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants temporary legal residency to undocumented people brought to this country at a young age.

The immigration activist and Democratic political fixture is one of more than 14,000 Nevada DACA recipients who have awaited a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the program’s future after President Donald Trump’s administration attempted to shut it down in 2017.

She never expected good news.

“I’ve seen what’s been happening,” Silva said. “I’ve seen our community lose over and over again, and we get beat down every time. We know that we are fighting the entire government of the United States of America as undocumented people who (other) people don’t even think should be here.”

Silva’s wait ended Thursday, when the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to immediately end the DACA program through its ruling on Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California. In a 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal minority in finding the administration did not take the proper steps to end the program, which was enacted by President Barack Obama in 2012.

Trump immediately criticized the decision, saying in a tweet that Republicans needed to push for his re-election to secure a sixth justice to ensure other priorities, such as gun rights, remain safe.

“These horrible and politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives,” the president tweeted.

While local advocates and DACA recipients, also known Dreamers, cheered the temporary victory, those involved in the legal fight for immigrants’ rights cautioned the fight is far from over.

DACA on the ballot

“The bottom line is that DACA is on the ballot in November,” said Michael Kagan, director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic and a law professor. “(The decision) invalidates what the Trump administration did in 2017, but it also points to how they could end the DACA program.”

Kagan stressed the Supreme Court ruled against the administration on a procedural level, meaning another DACA challenge could be successful in the future. Likewise, the decision also offered clues as to how a Democratic administration — should presumptive nominee Joe Biden win election — could strengthen DACA.

“Dreamers worked so hard to create and preserve program, but they know there’s never going to be a durable form of protection unless it’s done in Congress,” Kagan said. “Congress has not been able to act on immigration for a long time, so there’s a reliance on presidential immigration law.”

The Supreme Court’s decision surprised Kagan, who had prepared the clinic and its allies for the defeat of DACA over the past six months. They were prepared to share information and, if necessary, defend dreamers in deportation proceedings.

While this was a good surprise, he said, the work continues. Thousands of undocumented immigrants still face the fear of deportation in Nevada. Unaccompanied children fleeing violence and immigrants who earned Temporary Protected Status are also still in flux until comprehensive immigration reform is passed in Congress.

Uriel Garcia, former DACA recipient and a citizenship instructor for the nonprofit Immigrant Home Foundation, said the stress of the past few months has given way to exhaustion. The foundation has worked to handle some 20 DACA applications per day as the community feared the worst for the program.

The work providing information and help for families continues, he said. The major question remains whether the government will start accepting new DACA applicants instead of just renewals. Thousands of Nevadans are eligible for legal residency under the program but did not previously apply for various reasons, including fear for their undocumented parents.

Opponents unhappy

DACA opponents decried the decision, with some calling it a defeat for the rule of law.

“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court denying President Trump’s rescission of DACA, a program that was implemented by nothing more than a policy memo issued by his predecessor, is an enormous setback for efforts to enforce U.S. immigration laws, as well as for the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform .

Stein said the decision will lead to a wave of illegal immigration and will allow future presidents to overrule existing laws with policy memos, knowing the Supreme Court has now given such memos the weight of law.

Elected officials weigh in

Some of Nevada’s top elected officials and leaders publicly voiced their support for the decision Thursday.

“Dreamers are Nevadans,” Gov. Steve Sisolak tweeted. “They’re our neighbors, teachers and friends. They deserve to live and work in our state and country without the constant fear of deportation, and I’m thrilled and grateful that (the Supreme Court) agrees.”

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate, said the DACA program has allowed young people “to contribute to our communities in immeasurable ways,” from military service to health care work.

“Today’s ruling allows Dreamers to continue giving back to the only country they call home, but a sense of uncertainty still hangs over them,” Cortez Masto said. “Congress must provide permanent relief for Dreamers and finally give them the opportunity to become full citizens of this country.”

Reps. Dina Titus, Steven Horsford and Susie Lee, all Democrats, also released statements of support for Thursday’s decision. They called on the Republican-controlled Senate to take up legislation passed by the House that would offer a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.

Las Vegas City Councilwoman Olivia Diaz, herself a daughter of immigrants, said she was celebrating a victory with her community on Thursday. She was grateful for a temporary break in uncertainty for DACA recipients, many of whom she said are hardworking students.

“Most Dreamers feel grateful to live in our country and want to give back,” she said. “But we need something more to make sure their dreams become a sustained reality.”

More community support

Latino education, business and civil rights leaders also weighed in.

Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara tweeted the Supreme Court “kept dreams alive” on Thursday and urged his students to keep fighting.

The Nevada System of Higher Education, which supported its California counterpart’s legal challenge to Trump, also voiced its support.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada also praised the decision, saying dreamers “enrich our state as frontline workers in Nevada’s battle against COVID-19: as teachers, as artists, as scientists and more.”

Latin Chamber of Commerce President Peter Guzman said his members, many of whom are or employ workers of various immigrant statuses, are ecstatic with the decision. He called Dreamers “a boon for America,” saying they provide close to $2 billion in state and local taxes while working and attending school.

“This was long overdue,” Guzman said. “I can’t believe that, in 2020, we’re even still talking about this. We need to fix immigration in this country.”

Contact Rory Appleton at rappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.