The Rattler (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 106, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 20, 2017 Page: 1 of 16
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DACA DREAM CUT SHORT
SAMANTHA SALAZAR
NEWS EDITOR
On Sept. 5, 2017, President Trump
announced his plans to end the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
program (DACA). The program, which
was established in 2012 to protect
undocumented immigrants who arrived in
the U.S. as children, is set to be phased out
over a six-month period unless legislation
is passed. The termination of DACA will
affect thousands, especially in Texas where
the second largest population of DACA
recipients resides, after California. DACA
students, also known as DREAMers, are
not only in abundance in Texas but also
within St. Mary’s, and are now faced with
an uncertain future as residents of the
United States.
One of said students is Etiem Rivera
Gonzales, sophomore music major, who
arrived in the United States in 2006 and
has been a part of DACA for three years.
Through the program, Gonzales has
had the opportunity to study and assist
her family with a small, steady income.
After hearing the news about DACA, she
was heartbroken.
“If the program is completely ended,
then I will not have a reliable income and
the financial aid that is provided through
work study may not be available,” she said.
Gonzales, who plans to renew
her permit and become involved in
advancement of DACA through Congress,
believes thousands have been able to build
a financially stable life because of DACA.
“The DACA program has helped
thousands of youth who have been here
for most of their lives,” she said. “Many
[DACA recipients] were living in poverty
conditions. With the help of the work
permit that was part of [DACA], many
families now have a stable income.”
Gonzales, who has lived in the U.S. for
over a decade, is frustrated with the situation
because she believes many DACA students
aren’t responsible for the current situation
and call the United States home.
This is our home; this is where we grew
up...All our friends, classmates, [and] co-
workers are here,” she said. “This is our life.”
St. Mary’s is home to many
DREAMers and has offered a multitude
of financial and legal resources since
the program’s inception. The Office of
Civic Engagement being one office providing
assistance to DACA students.
Clare Acosta Matos, director of civic
engagement, has been working with DACA
students since the program became available
and has quickly become an important link
between students and the Center for Legal
and Social Justice (CLSJ).
“I worked heavily with the CLSJ to set
up information sessions for our students,”
she said. “For some students [who]
weren’t comfortable going to an attorney
by themselves, I would go with them to
meetings. I served as [their] support.”
With the assistance of the immigration
clinic at the Center for Legal and Social
Justice, many DACA students were able to
find both financial and legal assistance.
.Any time I have a student come in and
say ‘I need help with some legal assistance,’ it
takes one phone call and there’s an attorney
ready to work with them,” Matos said.
The Center for Legal and Social Justice’s
Erica Schommer, a clinical assistant
professor of law at the Center for Legal and
Social Justice, gave advice about DACA.
Schommer, whose main job is helping law
students become immigration attorneys,
CONTINUED ON PG. 3
mm
Kayla Trevino, senior political science major, at the peaceful protest at th
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St. Mary's University (San Antonio, Tex.). The Rattler (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 106, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 20, 2017, newspaper, September 20, 2017; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1048365/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting St. Mary's University Louis J. Blume Library.