DACA’s effect on one dreamer’s journey

Juan Chavez is working hard, he's studying, trying to earn a double major and now he's busy fighting to stay here, in Dover at Delaware State, and in America, the country he calls home.

He called the decision by the Trump Administration to revoke DACA "disheartening."

"Honestly, it's very heartbreaking because I grew up in this country basically believing it was my own country."

His mother brought him and his two siblings to the United States from Mexico around 6 years old.

He says if his mother had chosen to stay, he would be surrounded by an atmosphere of violence, corruption and drugs.

"She knew that it was breaking the law, but for her, breaking the law was better than seeing her children die because they died of starvation, or became drug addicts, or got involved with all the drug violence going around."

Before DACA came to being in 2012, Chavez had no options for higher education, lacking paperwork he could not find work to put him through college.

"It is because of DACA that I can attend college.  If I didn't have DACA, I couldn't work, therefore I couldn't pay for college…  And I knew in myself because of DACA I was gonna complete my degree it may take me ten, twelve years to get there but I was gonna get my degree because I was able to work for my degree."

Today, Chavez is a junior who has earned a full ride scholarship based on his academics.  He benefitted from the immigration policy, but now that shadow has reared its ugly head over his fellow Dreamers once again.

"With DACA being revoked there is nothing we can do.  We can't work, we can't drive vehicles, there's just absolutely nothing we can do."

Juan says he is hopeful that though the immigration policy is gone, that congress can give this group permanent peace of mind.

"We're gonna keep fighting, we're gonna keep doing what we do to prove to America that we are America, and we are here to stay."

The rally Chavez attended was held in front of the offices of senators carper and coons and proceeded to the governor's office.

Carper and Coons have both expressed support for a DREAM Act in the Senate.

More than 1,000 DACA recipients live in The First State, and some of those recipients spoke to the crowd gathered.

They read statements from their senators and shared personal stories of how the immigration policy affected their lives.

Representative Lisa Blunt-Rochester says this rally is a great sign of Delawareans helping Delawareans.

"We'll I think first off all it shows that this is a part of Delaware.  We come together in important times like this and this is a whole coalition which is great because it's all walks of life.  Young, old, different backgrounds, really standing up for each other."

Blunt-Rochester is a co-sponsor for the DREAM Act in the House and says they are trying to get more support, but adds the real issues is whether or not congressional leadership will allow the bill to come to the floor for a vote.

She says Democratic and Republicans both support a bill, they just need to get it done.