BROWNSVILLE – D.A.C.A. supporters and applicants came together to protest at the federal courthouse in Brownsville after a ruling affected the state of the D.A.C.A. program.
On October fifth, the U.S. court of appeals for the fifth circuit ruled in agreement with a lower court’s decision stating that the 2012 D.A.C.A. program is unlawful.
Members of La Union del Pueblo Entero, Arise Adelante and Border Workers United came together to protest against the ruling that will prevent the Department of Homeland Security from accepting new D.A.C.A. applicants.
L.U.P.E. member and former D.A.C.A. recipient, Abraham Diaz voices concerns for the D.A.C.A. recipients in the Rio Grande valley.
“Many of them are bank tellers, restaurant workers, teachers, are students. All of this is very important because we know the capacity that they have,” said Diaz “We know the big impact they have in our communities in our economy, and taking away this work permit is going to put us in limbo again with so much uncertainty.”
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ website, the ruling does not affect current D.A.C.A. and employment authorization documents, and any individual who is a D.A.C.A. recipient can still have their paperwork accepted and processed.
Individuals who qualify and send their initial D.A.C.A. application can still apply for the program, but the application will not be processed until after the litigation of the ruling.
“I was studying, actually nursing, and I had to drop out. Because I could study but when I go to get the license, I’m not going to be able to get it because I don’t have any type of form to work like a social security number,” said Maria Oritz.
Ortiz is eligible for the D.A.C.A. program, but with this new ruling, her application will be on hold.
A three-judge panel decided to keep D.A.C.A. in place while the court explores changes made by the Biden administration in august that were scheduled to go into effect in October.
