Houstonians commemorate 12th anniversary of DACA at City Hall by urging President Biden to follow path to citizenship – Houston Public Media

Colleen DeGuzman

University diploma. Become a business owner. Managing a bank.

These are some of the dreams that local recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program said they were able to realize in Houston. June marks the 12th anniversary of DACA, and Mayor John Whitmire commemorated it by inviting local leaders and beneficiaries of the program, also known as Dreamers, to City Hall on Tuesday.

Former President Barack Obama’s program allowed about 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to remain in the country. An estimated 60,000 Houstonians are dreamers.

Local Dreamers are estimated to contribute $255.4 million in taxes and spend $846.2 million in the city’s economy.

While recognizing the program’s accomplishments, Whitmire said the country has a long way to go in retaining and utilizing the talent and education that local DACA recipients have to offer the city.

“It’s a day of celebration, but it’s also a day of challenge,” Whitmire said.

Yolanda Batz, 22, attended the University of Houston and just passed her exams to become a registered nurse. She says she is grateful that the program allowed her to continue her studies in the country, but that in trying to get a job as a nurse, she faces obstacles.

“During my nursing studies, I faced a lot of discrimination from clinics. My applications were also rejected several times,” Batz said.

She, along with several other speakers, called on President Joe Biden and Congress to work to establish a path to permanent citizenship for people living undocumented in the country.

Batz said she dreams of one day becoming a nurse practitioner. She also dreams of reuniting with her family in Guatemala whom she has not been able to see for 19 years.

“If DACA were to reopen or if I got a work permit, I would happily do it,” she said.

Zak Galindo is a DACA recipient who owns several local businesses across the city, such as Galindo’s Barbershop and Galindo’s Coffee + Elixirs.

“I opened several businesses and now my business has over 70 employees, all of whom now have jobs, can support their families, live the American dream and buy homes,” Galindo said. “This story is the same as many other DACA recipients. There are also many people who just need this chance, just like the one I had when I got DACA.”

Emiliano Valencia is the deputy director of the American Business Immigration Coalition in Texas, and he said he is “an example of what Houstonians can accomplish when they have access to work authorization.”

Valencia said it was because of DACA that he also earned his degree from Sam Houston State University while working as a bank manager.

“Now I’m helping other Houstonians achieve their American dream, just like me,” he said.

But he also urged leaders to open a path for Dreamers to obtain citizenship.

“Today’s event is not only a celebration of the impact of DACA, but also a call to action,” Valencia said, “to the administration and Congress to are working together to further expand work authorization and pave the way to legal status for Dreamers.”