DAVENPORT, Iowa — Hundreds of thousands of Dreamers are now protected once again after the Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Marjie Mejia-Caraballo, with One Human Family and Progressive Action for the Common Good, says she sees it as a victory.
The Obama-era program protects immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation and allows them to live, learn, and work here.
"This is the only country they've known," Mejia-Caraballo says. "Most of them have never returned to their home country, so this is the only life they know."
Mejia-caraballo has worked with immigration for the last 20 years, and she says she knows dozens of DACA recipients in the Quad Cities.
"I attend Spanish Mennonite in Moline and there are some young folks who are DACA recipients," she says. "They'll be elated to know they can continue to work and study in this country."
The American Immigration council says there are more than 3,100 active DACA recipients in Iowa and more than 34,000 in Illinois, but Mejia-Caraballo knows more are out there.
"You'll see people coming out of the shadows," she says. "There won't be the fear of the unknown."
Davenport's LULAC Council #10 President Jazmin Newton-Butt says the economy would suffer if it lost Dreamers.
"There's about 800,000 DACA recipients (nationwide)," she says. "We'd be hurting if we lost those workers. They pay taxes and contribute to overall economy."
While the ruling is being considered a victory by many, Newton-Butt says the fight for comprehensive immigration reform isn't over.
"The administration could move forward with taking the appropriate steps as the Supreme Court laid out to end the program." she says. "There's also a possibility the president could issue an executive order ending the program. But at least for today, DACA is here."