In a 5-4 decision, U.S. Supreme Court extended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program allowing nearly 800,000 young people, so-called Dreamers, remain safe from deportation. Juan Mascorro Guerrero first applied to the program when he was 17 years old. That was back in 2012 when the DACA program gave temporary protection from deportation and a work permit to those who entered the United States without legal status when they were minors.
But when President Donald Trump took office, he sought to end the DACA program saying it was unconstitutional. The move prevented any new program applications from moving forward. Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling allows the program to continue.
“I am just very excited. I recently graduated with my Master’s degree and a job with Amazon here in Grand Rapids in a leadership role and I was a little nervous, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with DACA…if it was going to get terminated instantly would I lose my job. I’ve worked very hard to get the education that I’ve gotten and I didn’t want that to go to waste.”
Mascorro says he would like to see the program extended to more undocumented people.
“When we think of someone who is undocumented, we stereotype and we think of someone who is Mexican but I think there are people not only from Latin America but from all over the world. I have met folks who are Black and who identify as undocumented.”