Austin American-Statesman: As DACA decision looms, Texas college students worry about their future<\/p>\n
By Lara Korte<\/p>\n
View story at statesman.com here<\/a><\/p>\n Martha Paz left Mexico with her family when she was 3 months old.<\/p>\n For most of her life, Paz lived in a small town outside of Dallas with her parents and younger siblings. She worked hard to get good grades in school, eventually graduating from high school as one of the top 10 students in her class.<\/p>\n When she was 16, Paz was among the\u00a0more than 124,000 Texans<\/a>\u00a0to receive initial approval under President Barack Obama\u2019s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, according to data from the Pew Research Center.Under the designation, Paz was temporarily protected from deportation. She got a driver\u2019s license and a work permit, and with her black belt in karate, she began teaching self-defense classes to young children.<\/p>\n Now a student at the University of Texas, Paz is working toward a degree in management information systems. But as early as this month, the U.S. Supreme Court could issue a decision that would mean the end of deferred action for Paz and hundreds of thousands of other young immigrants.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does scare me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s scary that I won\u2019t be able to use my degree for whatever I\u2019m going to work for.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Octavio Martinez, director of UT\u2019s Hogg Center for Mental Health, has written about the need to support DACA students at universities in Texas. The disruptions from worrying about how they\u2019ll be able to complete their studies if DACA is revoked can lead to severe distress, depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n \u201cThe threat of losing everything \u2014 imagine what that does to an individual person,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cAnd a lot of them internalize it and ask themselves, \u2018What have I done wrong? What did I not do?\u2019 And the environment is not looking very hospitable.\u201d<\/p>\n A\u00a02009 study<\/a>\u00a0found the threat of deportation or detention can cause long-term stress that seriously affects brain development. A\u00a02017 study,<\/a>\u00a0published shortly after President Donald Trump announced he would end DACA, found the program actually alleviated many of the stressors young undocumented people were feeling.<\/p>\n At the time the Trump administration rescinded DACA, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the program was a unilateral executive action, taken by Obama only after Congress refused similar action multiple times. The program was \u201cinconsistent with the Constitution\u2019s separation of powers,\u201d Sessions said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe effect of this unilateral executive amnesty, among other things, contributed to a surge of unaccompanied minors on the southern border that yielded terrible humanitarian consequences,\u201d Sessions said in his 2017 remarks<\/a>. \u201cIt also denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same jobs to go to illegal aliens.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s decision to end DACA has been put on hold by several courts across the country. But after hearing oral arguments in November, the nation\u2019s highest court will issue the final ruling on DACA early this year. Terminating the program could trigger a \u201cpublic health crisis,\u201d the 2017 study said.<\/p>\n Martinez argues that college campuses have a responsibility to provide DACA recipients, often called Dreamers, with emotional support.<\/p>\n When she first arrived at UT, Paz said she attended an orientation with other international students, many of whom were undocumented. Through this, she joined the University Leadership Initiative, a group of undocumented students and allies that works to educate students about their rights and provides free forums and clinics.<\/p>\n Paz said she would like to see the university create a Dreamer resource center. UT-San Antonio has a one-stop resource center that provides mental health support, academic advising, legal assistance, career counseling and social connections.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are approaches that colleges and universities can do. They can definitely provide a safe environment,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cLet the DACA students know that they are welcome there, they\u2019e accepted, and that these resources are there and available for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin Community College offers an academic track, called Ascender, aimed at supporting Latino students and is developing a support group for DACA students.<\/p>\n \u201cThe name of our institution says \u2018community,\u2019 and we have to reflect our community,\u201d said Alejandra Polcik, ACC\u2019s supervisor of Hispanic outreach projects. \u201cAnd whether some people like it or not, we live with DACA students and undocumented students, and they contribute to society.\u201d<\/p>\n ACC enrolls about 40,000 students, roughly 1,200 of whom are Dreamers, Polcik said. One of them was 20-year-old Armando Sanchez, who just graduated with an associate degree and plans to continue his study of political science and communications at Texas State University in the spring.<\/p>\n Sanchez was brought to the U.S. when he was 6 months old. He\u2019s seen other kids and his own family members get picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Receiving DACA designation offered some relief, but as a possible end nears, the stress is beginning to weigh on him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve spoken to a lot of DACA recipients, and many of them are scared. They believe they don\u2019t have the resources, or they don\u2019t know what resources they have,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cI\u2019ve been doing a lot of great things these past few months. And to know that if it does overturn and my dream ends, just because of one person \u2014 for me, it brings me anger.\u201d<\/p>\n If DACA ends, it would mean some students could lose employment needed to pay for college or living expenses. If they are able to graduate, they might not be able to find work in their fields, Polcik said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might have attorneys and doctors working washing dishes and babysitting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Still, advocates say immigrants are resilient, and even if DACA is repealed, they will find a way to be successful.<\/p>\n Montserrat Garibay, secretary-treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO, is a Mexican immigrant and UT graduate who works to promote opportunities for students, especially those from immigrant families.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very devastating, without a doubt,\u201d she said of the potential DACA shutdown. \u201cBut I think that\u2019s just also one of the things about Dreamers: They have this power; they don\u2019t lose hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Paz is on track to graduate in two years. She hopes to find a company willing to sponsor her for a work visa. But if she can\u2019t get a job in the U.S., she said, she\u2019ll probably try to get one in Mexico.<\/p>\n Until then, she\u2019s working on helping other students like herself. She\u2019s creating a network of undocumented students in Texas to provide advice to others navigating college. <\/p>\n \u201cI believe undocumented students have been able to surpass a lot of challenges; that makes them good workers,\u201d Paz said. \u201cHelping people like that would help them in the future to advance in other ways.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Austin American-Statesman: As DACA decision looms, Texas college students worry about their future By Lara Korte View story at statesman.com here Martha Paz left Mexico with her family when she was 3 months old. For most … Continue reading
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