Thousands of DACA recipients in 黑料吃瓜网 are breathing a sigh of relief after learning the U.S. Supreme Court blocked efforts by the Trump administration to end the program that protects them from deportation and allows them to work and study in the U.S.
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Cristian Padilla Romero, 24, is a Ph.D. student studying history at Yale, and he鈥檚 a DACA recipient. He was brought to the U.S. from Honduras by his parents when he was 7 years old and grew up in Atlanta.
He鈥檚 back in Georgia now because of the pandemic, and he said it鈥檚 hard to put into words how he felt Thursday when he learned of the high court鈥檚 decision.
鈥淚t was such a matter of best or worst scenario that I think I was trying to stay calm,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut my first thought was like, wait ... really? Hard to believe at first even just because knowing how things were stacked against us, or it seemed like they were, so it was a very pleasant surprise to say the least.鈥�
Padilla Romero鈥檚 mother is undocumented and spent time in ICE detention last year.
Though Padilla Romero calls today鈥檚 ruling a big win, he recognizes that his mom鈥檚 future -- and his own -- remains uncertain.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still a possibility that DACA could be terminated in the near future, especially by another four years of the current administration, but at the moment it鈥檚 definitely a sigh of relief,鈥� he said.
As a historian, Padilla Romero said he recognizes links between the struggles of young immigrants and those on the streets across the U.S. over the past weeks demonstrating for racial justice.
鈥淭here are lots of immigrants from the African diaspora who are also DACA recipients who are from Haiti, from Latin America, from the rest of the Caribbean who are also in this struggle,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll these issues are connected. It just means that we do have the power to make really good change.鈥�
Hear the interview below:
