SAN ANTONIO — For seven years, Andrea Ramos-Fernandez has relied on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA, to stay in San Antonio with her family and friends.
- Supreme Court will hear arguments on DACA
- Justices will likely consider 1 of 3 options
- Dreamers say they want a permanent solution
The program, created by the Obama Administration under an executive order, allows some applicants to request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. For Ramos-Fernandez, DACA has allowed her to live, work and go to college without fear of deportation.
"I got DACA the second I could. It was offered in June 2012 and I had DACA by October 2012," Ramos-Fernandez said.
The 23-year-old is from Mexico City, Mexico. Her family moved to Texas in 2005 after facing financial hardship. They moved in with family, many of whom are American citizens.
"I always knew I was undocumented. My parents never hid that from me. I think since we have such a long history in [America] and in Mexico, that it was a no-brainer to tell me," she said.
However, Ramos-Fernandez's parents warned the then 9-year-old her status was private information, and she needed to be careful with whom she associated. It was a difficult task she realized growing up and going through school.
"I was a junior in high school. I was trying to be a normal teenage girl. I tried to be like my peers, but I always knew that I wasn't like my peers," Ramos-Fernandez said.
When DACA became available, Ramos-Fernandez said it opened several pathways to new opportunities, except citizenship.
"DACA actually opened that possibility for me to go to college," she said.
In 2016, she began studying nursing at UTSA. However, Ramos-Fernandez had a change of heart when Donald Trump became president. She decided to pursue public administration with a focus in public policy. She soon realized how that change would greatly impact her life later. In 2017, President Trump announced DACA would be coming to an end.
"I was like 'Oh, I don't know how I feel,' then it just sort of dawned on me, 'Trump is terminating DACA'," she said.
Three lower courts have since blocked Trump's order, calling the termination unlawful. Beginning Tuesday, the fate of DACA lies with the U.S. Supreme Court as justices will hear arguments in one of their most important cases of the term.
"In reality, we have no idea what is going to happen with the Supreme Court case," Ramos-Fernandez said.
According to reports, justices will likely consider one of three options:
- Justices could claim they have no authority to review Trump's decision since DACA was created by executive order
- Justices could review the decision and determine Trump termination of DACA was unlawful
- Justices could review the decision and determine Trump's termination of DACA was lawful
Ramos-Fernandez hopes the formal hearings will spark new life into the creation of a permanent solution for Dreamers.
"If there is no permanent solution at the end of this, then this is just another political football," she said.
To help, Ramos-Fernandez will be delivering a letter to U.S. senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz that includes signatures from 50 Texas businesses, supporting a permanent solution for Dreamers.