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Migrant families in Utah helped ahead of DACA decision

Posted at 10:53 PM, Nov 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-10 00:53:18-05

SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of families across the country are getting ready for the possibility of DACA protections being removed as early as next week.

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday as the Trump Administration tries to prove it can legally terminate the program.

In Utah, dozens of families went to the Consulate of Mexico on Saturday to renew DACA permits and speak to immigration attorneys prior to the decision.

Since the Obama Administration, DACA has protected almost 800,000 people brought into the country illegally as children.

Alison Galicia Azamar, 18, is a nursing student at Salt Lake Community College who was born in Mexico. She said she has been a DACA recipient for the past three years.

“I came here when I was about one,” she said. “It’s thanks to DACA that I’m able to work and go to school… we kind of just want to make sure I’m in (the system) before anything happens.”

President Trump has argued some people are taking advantage of DACA, stating he tried to fix the program before attempting to eliminate it.

“The Democrats have really let them down. They’ve really let them down. They had this great opportunity,” President Trump said at an event last year. “Now people are taking advantage of DACA, and it’s a shame.”

Eloy Monge, the Vice-consul of Protection and Legal Affairs for the Consulate of Mexico in Salt Lake City, said he does not know what will happen at the upcoming Supreme Court hearing, but he hopes to give families some peace of mind until then.

“The only country they know is actually the United States. A lot of them don’t even speak Spanish,” Monge said. “I think DACA is really important for students and DACA recipients to lose that fear of deportation.”