CALIFORNIA: Diana, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme recipient, wipes away a tear listening to the parent of a DACA recipient speak during a rally outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles recently. — Reuters
NEW YORK, Sept 06 (AP): They grew up in America and are working or going to school here. Some are building businesses or raising families of their own. Many have no memory of the country where they were born.
Now, almost 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the US illegally as children or overstayed their visas could see their lives upended after the Trump administration announced Tuesday it is ending the Obama-era programme that protected them from deportation.
"We are Americans in heart, mind and soul. We just don't have the correct documentation that states we're American," said Jose Rivas, 27, who is studying for a master's in counseling at the University of Wyoming.
Rivas' grandmother brought him to this country from Mexico when he was 6. He wants to become a school counselor in America but lamented: "Everything is up in the air at this point."
The news that the government is phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, known as DACA, was met with shock, anger and a sense of betrayal by its beneficiaries, often called "Dreamers."
Demonstrations broke out in New York City, where police handcuffed and removed over a dozen immigration activists who briefly blocked Trump Tower, and in other cities, including Salt Lake City, Denver, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. Students walked out of class in protest in several cities, including Phoenix and Albuquerque.