MIAMI (WSVN) - As undocumented immigrants across the nation await the White House’s decision on the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, supporters of the program in Miami spoke out on behalf of those whose lives could be affected by the decision.
A demonstration was held in in Southwest Miami-Dade, Monday afternoon.
Local lawmakers said time is running short to prepare. “What has Congress been doing to help the dreamers? Nada, zilch, zip, nothing,” said U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.
Ros-Lehtinen is calling on her colleagues in Congress to step up and take action on immigration. “I believe that Congress will act, but shame on us for not acting until the very last minute,” she said.
The clock is ticking for the folks on Capitol Hill to come up with a plan.
President Donald Trump is expected to announce an end to the deferred action on DACA, Tuesday. The Obama-era program protects immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children from deportation.
At a press conference, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “The president’s priorities on immigration are to create a system that encourages legal immigration and benefits our economy and American workers.”
There are currently about 800,000 people protected under DACA, and many of them are protesting across the country in opposition to the president’s policy change that will reportedly be delayed for six months.
“We’ve been here since we were small. We don’t know any other place than here,” said local student Analleli Gallegos.
Gallegos, along with her family, moved to the United States from Mexico when she was 10 years old, and she said her world could change after the president’s announcement.
“If he takes away DACA, will I lose my job? Are we going to get deported?” said local student Analleli Gallegos. At this moment, I have a scholarship, so I’m actually attending school. I don’t know what’s going to happen, whether I will lose my scholarship as well.”
Trump had previously promised a compassionate solution to the immigration issue. “It’s a very, very tough subject. We’re going to deal with DACA with heart,” he said.
Now, some in Congress on both sides of the aisle are calling foul. “It shouldn’t be surprising, because he campaigned hard on being against a lot of these immigration efforts, said Ros-Lehtinen, “but it’s disappointing, because he had given false hopes, and we thought that maybe there was a ray of light coming through.”
Time is of the essence for panicking parents like Lorena Jofre, who has a young daughter.
Jofre’s parents brought her to the U.S. from Chile 25 years ago, and she said she’s not going anywhere.
“Because of DACA, I’m able to work and, you know, drive and many other things,” she said, “but I want the message to be clear that this announcement will not break us; it will only make us fight harder and unite more as a community.”
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