The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, or DACA, has given undocumented children of immigrants opportunities to live and work in the United States for more than a decade.
But these protections are once again under attack as conservative leaders seek to overturn the policy in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
DACA has given many what’s known as the American Dream. It’s the reality for San Jose’s Cesar Bautista.
The child of immigrants, Bautista was given opportunities in this country to become an immigration lawyer in order to help others.
DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, like Bautista, to work and live without fear of deportation – they’re known as dreamers.
MORE: Immigrants brought to the US as children ask judges to keep protections against deportation
“It really opened all doors for me and it meant that I could actually work in this country and exercise a profession in this country, which is what I’m currently doing,” Bautista said. “If DACA were to go away – it’s almost unimaginable.”