Following the death of Chief Justice Antonin Scalia, West Michigan immigration reform advocates gathered to call on the Supreme Court to affirm deferred action.
“You wake up every day and then you realize, this could be the last I’m going to see my family.”
That’s Kevin Curiel-Vazquez, speaking at the Hispanic Center of West Michigan about his fears growing up undocumented. When President Barak Obama signed deferred action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, his whole life changed.
“I was able to apply myself in the way I always wanted to. I was able to find a decent job, get an ID, get a car, get a license, get a back account, insurance.”
DACA and a similar program for undocumented parents of US-born children, called DAPA, were both challenged in court. Alex Gillett from Justice for Our Neighbors said the death of Justice Antonin Scalia worried her in how it would affect the timing of the decision.
“What we are here doing today is continuing to draw attention to administrative relief, DACA and DAPA and just urging the Supreme Court to hear the case and decide in favor of DACA and DAPA. So the Supreme Court has accepted to hear the case and I believe oral arguments will be made in the case in April and hopefully we’ll have a decision in June.”
