Friends — I remember exactly where I was when DACA was first announced ten years ago: I was walking through a museum with my mom and sister in Washington, DC when we got the news about President Obama’s announcement.
We didn't know much about the DACA program yet, but as we hugged and celebrated, we could all feel that our lives were about to change.
Getting DACA meant that I was able to graduate without the threat of deportation looming over my head and start my career. My sister, who was in high school, was able to apply to college to study hospitality and then start her dream job at Disney.
Getting DACA meant that when my husband and I decided to have a baby, I had access to quality healthcare for prenatal and postnatal care. It meant I had 12 weeks of paid maternity leave from my employer. It meant I had access to a therapist to support me through postpartum anxiety, and it meant I could afford childcare when I returned to work.
All of this should be the norm for every person living in this country. But for millions of undocumented people, it's not.
I don't take DACA for granted. Since I first heard about DACA, I learned just how hard immigrant youth advocates and allies organized to win the largest immigration protection in over 40 years.
I know how hard we've worked to keep the program in place despite constant Republican attacks — like when we defended DACA at the Supreme Court in 2020 despite endless attacks from the Trump administration.
But the reality is we aren't fighting to protect a program, we are fighting to protect people.
The hard truth is that DACA has me, and hundreds of thousands like me, living in limbo. My son is too young to understand that my current immigrant status could mean we could be separated in the future. He's too young to understand that our government refuses to acknowledge the full humanity of his immigrant mom, aunt, and grandparents.
His reality is one that too many other US citizen children live with, as over 300,000 US-born children have at least one parent with DACA. That’s why we need permanent protections now.
DACA is temporary, but we are here to stay. That’s why today I’m asking you to make a donation to United We Dream Action to help us secure permanent protections for millions of undocumented people living in this country.
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When my son is old enough to understand the whole story, I'm hopeful that I'll be telling him how we won citizenship legislation for millions. I'll tell him that it was people like his mom, young people at United We Dream, and millions of immigrant organizers who were undocumented and unafraid of demanding elected officials to protect people from the terror of detention and deportation.
Thank you for standing with us,
Bruna, United We Dream Action
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