Our lives are at stake: DACA faces jeopardy from Court Ruling and Trump’s Project 2025

On October 10, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held a hearing on oral arguments regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Despite the significant economic benefits and widespread support among Americans that the DACA program has generated since its inception under former President Obama, conservatives seek to dismantle it, arguing that it is unconstitutional and burdensome to government finances. Now, a decision is approaching, and the stakes couldn’t be higher for countless lives hanging in the balance, including mine.

This Fifth Circuit Court is known as one of the most conservative courts in the country. Their decision could endanger 500,000+ recipients, threatening the lives we’ve created in this nation, our careers and education, and most importantly, our safety and security. It is the dehumanization and vilification of immigrants—especially under former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies—that has stripped people of their dignity, ravaged our communities, and deepened the division in our country, making it increasingly difficult for us to secure our rights.

Over the years, DACA has granted worker authorizations to over 830,000 eligible immigrants who arrived as children, allowing us to live without the threat of deportation. However, this number has drastically declined due to legal restrictions imposed by far right-wing judges, such as Judge Andrew Hanen. His attack on DACA is part of a broader effort to dismantle the program, and it won’t be the last.

In 2017, everything changed for me when President Trump rescinded the DACA program, ending new applications and threatening the protections of those already enrolled. Witnessing my communities under attack while lacking political representation, I decided to step out of the shadows as undocumented. My sister and I were the only openly undocumented students in our high school. With the protection of God, I began organizing and raising awareness about the legislative attacks against immigrants.

This year marks my twentieth year in the United States since migrating in 2004—with no pathway to citizenship in sight. Our immigration system has been wrecked with systemic racism fueled by a false narrative that criminalizes our existence. It’s been twenty years since I last set foot in my homeland of Oaxaca, Mexico, and many of my elders have passed away without the chance for a reunion. My heartache reflects the collective struggle of millions confined in a system that offers little to no hope. This is why we must not only defend the DACA program but also ensure its permanent protection and expansion, including a comprehensive pathway to citizenship.

Americans must not overlook the humanity of immigrants. We are public servants, business owners, farmworkers, lawyers, domestic workers, union leaders, and teachers—people who keep this country thriving. DACA has been my lifeline, offering opportunity and motion towards freedom. It transformed my life. I’m now a graduate of Georgetown University, working in politics in Washington, D.C., where I advocate for the American people. I’m also the founder of College Access for Non-Citizens, a community that empowers students of color. Donald Trump claims that we have poisoned the blood of this country, but just as blood is essential for life, immigrants are vital to the life of our nation. We build the infrastructure, harvest the food, educate the children, and change the world. We are not poison; we are community, culture, and kinship.

DACA not only faces legal scrutiny, but also the threat of Donald Trump, who’s campaigning on hate toward immigrants. And he means what he spews. The conservative playbook written by Trump loyalists, called Project 2025, threatens to commit massive deportation raids, further militarize the border, implements travel bans, alters legal immigration laws, intensifies family separation policies, and promises to end DACA. The ramifications for these actions would be dire and deadly, people would lose their jobs, homes, families, and lives.

As this case potentially moves to the Supreme Court, the stakes have never been higher as a potential Trump re-election further complicates our fight. We must remain vigilant and prepared. The hate immigrants have faced during this election cycle proves the vulnerabilities we face. However, our stories are powerful weapons against the xenophobia that seeks to diminish our humanity. We must commit to combatting the vilification of migrants, speak up to protect DACA, and advocate for an inclusive pathway to citizenship for all.

(*) Sheila Cruz-Morales is an immigrant advocate, Stories Associate at the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C. and the founder of College Access for Non-Citizens.

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