CENTRAL TEXAS — Just weeks into his administration, President Biden has already zeroed in on immigration reform. And Senator John Cornyn recently spoke up backing a group advocating for a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers.
Spectrum News 1 spoke with a family hopeful their efforts and support from Congress will lead to a pathway to citizenship for mixed-status families like theirs.
Benito Costilla immigrated to the United States from Mexico with his family when he was just 5 years old.
"After a while, I was actually able to learn English within about a year and a half," said Benito Costilla.
His sister Marina Costilla was born in the Lone Star State. She is a U.S. citizen, but Benito Costilla is not, something she did not think about until she got older.
"As you grow up and you know you get the elections and you hear of all the controversy between like people with papers, people without papers, documented, undocumented," said Marina Costilla. “It definitely does get to your head. And it does make you worry that one day your family might not be together."
Benito Costilla is one of more than 100,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients here in Texas, all immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
"We live a completely normal life, it's just that sometimes we bump into barriers or we bump into obstacles whenever something related to our status comes up," explained Benito Costilla.
As Benito Costilla is with each administration, he is hopeful for some form of change.
"Whenever it was the Trump administration, at the very beginning, I actually was hopeful that they would be able to move some kind of reform through Congress," said Benito Costilla. “Unfortunately, that didn't happen, even though many congressmen and senators, they tried to pass something. Now we're in the Biden administration and Congress is a little bit different."
Benito Costilla said he wants a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients like him.
Specifically, Benito Costilla says he calls on leaders like Senator Cornyn to help. Cornyn recently spoke up backing a group advocating for a permanent legislative solution.
"I call on people like John Cornyn, Senator John Cornyn, to get in talks with this administration and to move a bill through Congress," said Benito Costilla. "Because there will need to be a 60 vote, at least more than 60 votes in the Senate to pass a bill."
Benito Costilla explained, DACA recipients have a lot to offer.
"I was the first to graduate from high school out of my whole family," said Benito Costilla. "And then I became the first to graduate with college degrees in my whole family."
DACA recipients are earning degrees, and according to the Center for American Progress, each year, Texas DACA-recipient households pay $750.4 million in federal taxes and $417.7 million in state and local taxes.
"Hoping that they're going to be able to meet that 60-vote threshold to be able to get some kind of reform for immigrants, but also for Dreamers like myself," added Benito Costilla.