Dreamers in Colorado Springs shed light on Supreme Court ruling
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- It was a landmark win for DACA Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Trump Administration's attempt to end the dreamers program, also known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
It's an Obama-era program that protects immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, and the 5-4 vote in the Supreme Court was felt here in Colorado Springs.
The justices emphasized that the administration failed to provide an adequate reason to justify ending the DACA program, calling it "arbitrary and capricious."
The United States has become a symbol of the 'American Dream' to many immigrants.
"One of the reasons my family moved to the United States and Colorado was for a better life," said Amner Carmona, a Dreamer.
It's a dream his family had for him and his sisters.
"DACA gives people access to a lot of things. Obviously our Social Security and work permit allows us to take on jobs our parents could not have," Carmona said.
While he is known as a Dreamer, it's not a title he chose for himself.
"When I came to the U.S. I was about 3 years old," he said.
It's also not a title Monica Perez chose either, but it was given to her through an immigration policy she applied for as a high school student.
"I came when I was 3 months old so I've been here all of my life," she said.
As both her and Carmona get older, their lives becomes even more deeply rooted in Colorado. Along with the other 15,000 dreamers in the state as of last year.
"But there are still 11 million undocumented people out there," Perez said.
Carmona said getting rid of DACA would mean leaving the place he's always called home.
"If I were to go back to Mexico, I have family down there but I have no relationship with them. I would not know how to navigate the transportation, it would be a whole new world for me," he said.
Carmona has a bachelor's and master's degree, while Perez is working in sales. Both paths they know wouldn't be possible without the enrollment in the program.
"Everything I've accomplished was because of my DACA," he said.
