PHOENIX — Reyna Montoya was just 10 years old when her family left the violence in Tijuana and crossed into the U.S. without documentation. As she grew up in Arizona, she had persistent anxiety that even a small traffic violation could lead to her deportation. It wasn’t until 2012, 11 years later, that she received a letter confirming her acceptance into a new immigration program designed for individuals who entered the country illegally as children.
“Suddenly, a world of possibilities opened up,” Montoya shared, her emotions visibly overwhelmed. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, initiated during the Obama administration, enabled her and hundreds of thousands of others to obtain two-year, renewable work permits allowing them to live and work in the United States legally.
However, as President-elect Donald Trump heads back to the White House after trying and failing to abolish DACA during his previous term, the approximately 535,000 current DACA recipients are facing renewed uncertainty. Ongoing legal challenges to DACA could potentially render it illegal, thrusting individuals like Montoya back into a situation without protections against deportation.
“I take his (Trump’s) threats seriously; when they mention ‘mass deportation’, it includes people like me,” stated Montoya, who leads Aliento, an advocacy group in Arizona focused on immigrant rights. This sense of uncertainty is familiar to DACA recipients, many of whom have experienced an onslaught of legal challenges as they transitioned from childhood to adulthood.
Since 2021, DACA has not accepted new applicants due to a federal court ruling declaring it illegal and instructing that no new applications be processed, although existing recipients can still renew their permits. The Biden administration is currently appealing this ruling, leaving the future status of DACA in limbo.
For many, securing and renewing DACA permits has brought transformative changes. Montoya, for instance, was able to work legally, gain access to health care, and even acquire a driver’s license for the first time. Recipients had hoped that Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidencies would support their cause; however, Trump’s reelection has intensified fears that DACA might be terminated, leaving them vulnerable to deportation.
In an effort to safeguard themselves, numerous recipients are hurrying to renew their DACA permits. Organizations like the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights have been offering free legal assistance to help navigate the complicated renewal process. Others are grappling with the harsh reality of potential family separations. Pedro Gonzalez-Aboyte, a DACA recipient from Phoenix, shared how he and his immigrant parents discussed the possibility of being separated from each other.
Gonzalez-Aboyte recounted his parents, who are originally from Mexico, emphasizing, “Even if we can’t stay here, as long as you three are safe and okay, that’s all that matters to us.” “That was a very real conversation,” he reflected.
The Trump transition team has not responded to any requests for comments regarding the matter. The extent of Trump’s influence on DACA remains unclear, but he has hinted at a crackdown on other immigrant protection programs and is appointing individuals with strict immigration policies to his administration, such as Stephen Miller and Thomas Homan.
In his first presidency, Trump attempted to dismantle DACA, but in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his administration did not follow proper procedures in doing so, without making a ruling on the legality of the program itself.
DACA’s fate is currently being deliberated by a three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, recognized as one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country. This panel heard arguments concerning DACA’s legality earlier in October, originating from a lawsuit filed by Texas and other Republican-led states in 2018. This case now centers on a Biden administration rule meant to protect DACA.
Opponents argue that undocumented immigrants are a financial liability to states. Conversely, the Biden administration and advocates argue that Texas has not sufficiently demonstrated the claimed costs linked to DACA and therefore lacks standing in the case.
There is no specific timeline for the panel to issue a ruling, and whatever decision they make will likely be appealed, with the possibility of the case reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.
Experts suggest that the most probable outcome is for the panel to declare DACA illegal, leading to further appeals to the Supreme Court. Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor specializing in immigration law at Cornell University, noted that while immediate efforts to end DACA may not be forthcoming from Trump, he wouldn’t dismiss the possibility entirely. “I don’t believe they could dismantle the program any quicker than the current litigation is progressing,” he noted. “Yet they still have numerous immigration policy matters to manage.”
Yale-Loehr added that the Biden administration’s capabilities in assisting DACA recipients are limited, though it may expedite early renewals and processes for current permit holders.
Greisa Martinez Rosas, a DACA recipient and executive director of United We Dream—a nationwide youth-led organization advocating for immigrants—spoke of the significant growth within the immigrant rights movement since Trump’s initial presidency. She highlighted the group’s efforts in preparing for this possibility by building a robust support system to respond to emerging threats.
Martinez Rosas urged Americans to extend sanctuary to immigrants during these perilous times, preparing measures to ensure their physical and mental well-being in the face of potential deportations while planning demonstrations and seeking support from the current government. “We still have a few months left for the Biden administration to utilize every available tool to protect and advocate for as many individuals as possible,” she expressed during a recent press conference. “We expect them to act decisively in these pressing times.”
