AUSTIN, Texas — On his first day as president, Joe Biden signed more than dozen executive actions to reverse many of his predecessor’s policies. Some of those policies have a direct effect on Texas.

Six of President Biden’s executive orders, memorandums, and proclamations signed hours after his inauguration are related to immigration. In addition, he will send Congress a comprehensive immigration bill that creates a pathway to citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrants. Biden also aims to fortify the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Obama-era measure that shielded thousands of young undocumented people from deportation.

Outside of the Austin-based immigration law office where Fidel Campuzano works, he stopped to take a look at the mural adorning the building. The mural’s message means so much to the 25-year-old from Mexico. It says “familias sin fronteras,” meaning “families without borders” in Spanish. 

“It's just kind of like a representation of my family, for me, because they decided to migrate here, and just bring our whole family here,” Campuzano said. 

But on January 20, 2021, those words are of greater significance to Campuzano, who is a DACA recipient. He said he feels his family has a new path forward. 

“This becomes more of a reality of being able to have families that are not separated, have families that are able to go back to their home countries,” he said. 

That is because Biden was officially sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Spectrum News 1 was with Campuzano who took some time to watch the inauguration on Wednesday. 

“It brings in a lot of hope, finally, like makes it real, like it's happened, we have a new president, like all of that just just kind of settles in,” he said. 

Campuzano’s parents brought him to the country when he was 9 years old. The University of Texas at Austin graduate is able to combine career with passion working as the firm administrator for Lincoln-Goldfinch Law because of DACA. But the initiative was under threat during the Trump administration.

“DACA itself was in court for almost all four years, so the insecurity, the instability, and even my status, it was just horrible,” Campuzano said. 

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But he is hopeful about the next four years. During his inauguration speech, President Biden called for the country to come together, but one of the most divisive topics in America remains immigration. Biden pledges in part to rescind the Muslim ban, change the word "alien" to "noncitizen" in immigration laws, halt construction of the Southern border wall, and revoke the Trump administration’s plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census. 

“To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America requires so much more than words. It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity,” Biden said during his inauguration speech.

And it would also take unity in Congress. Biden’s proposal allows DACA recipients to be eligible for temporary protected status immediately. Other undocumented immigrants would apply for green cards after five years if they pass background checks and pay their taxes. From there it would be a three-year path to naturalization. 

“I hope it brings a lot more stability, just being able to feel safe here in the country. My parents, they are homeowners. They have been paying taxes. Being able to feel secure and their own home, I would say, is the best thing that that can happen,” Campuzano said. 

Texas Republicans have fought against many of these measures. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has long been critical of DACA. In a statement Wednesday, he said, in part, “It is deeply troubling that most of Joe Biden’s first acts as president were to protect illegal immigrants and encourage illegal immigration at the expense of American jobs and workers.”