Trump’s Decision to End DACA Creates a Culture of Fear—and Resilience
Graciela Nuñez hasn’t been sleeping well since President Donald Trump announced on September 5 his decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. President Obama established the program via executive order in 2012 to protect immigrants who arrived to the United States as minors, known as “Dreamers,” from deportation and grant them work permits.
As an aspiring law student and DACA recipient, Nuñez now feels like her future, along with those of nearly 18,000 undocumented Washingtonians, is uncertain. The federal government is no longer accepting new DACA applications.
“I always knew DACA was going to end. I just didn’t know it would end this poorly,” said Nuñez, who currently works as a legal assistant in Shoreline. “I thought it would end as it transitioned into a law. I never thought racism would be a motivating factor [for] this decision.”
Washington State attorney general Bob Ferguson, joined by 15 other states and the District of Columbia, launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration on these grounds, alleging the decision to end DACA is discriminatory and violates the United States Constitution’s equal protections clause and due process procedures.
“The president has made numerous statements on the campaign trail and in office disparaging Mexicans… nearly 80 percent of Dreamers are of Mexican descent,” Ferguson said during a press conference on September 6. “If the overwhelming majority of Dreamers were Caucasian, does anybody really think this president would have [ended DACA]?”
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