New York. New Jersey. and elsewhere rallied on the Supreme Court steps this morning. I spoke with them and heard their stories and their hopes that the Supreme Court would make the right decision in support of the President and the millions of DACA and DAPA families. Many carried signs and stickers that read "Keep families together." Keeping families together is at the crux of the Presidents Executive ordersfamilies like that of Gabriela Andrade. who. as a teenager. fled violence in Brazil and settled in Texas before coming to Hawaii. While Gabrielas sister and parents were granted visas through a lottery system. Gabriela fell through the cracks. Until President Obama announced the DACA Program. she lived in fear of being separated from her entire family. She said: DACA pulled me out of limbo and gave me a life again. It allowed me to go back to school to pursue a bachelors degree in political science. to volunteer with several local organizations. Today. Gabriela is an advocate for DREAMers like herself. President Obamas DAPA and expanded DACA Programs would help thousands of families like Gabrielas who want to stay together and be contributing members of our communities without the daily fear of deportation. To tear undocumented parents away from their children and put these U.S.-born children in foster care is unconscionable. To deport people who were brought here when they were very youngto essentially tear them away from the United States. the only home and country they have knownis also unconscionable. These young people would be facing insurmountable odds. and I can certainly relate to some of the challenges they face. When I was almost 8 years old. my mother. brothers. and I legally immigrated to the United States. When we first arrived in Hawaii. we certainly struggled. I had to navigate the public school system without speaking a word of English.
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visas immigrated undocumented DACA deportation