‘A nerve-wracking time for many of us’ with DACA in jeopardy, undocumented say

Latino and Muslim speakers shared the mic during a Labor Day rally at Fresno’s Courthouse Park, calling attention to what they say are the two communities most targeted by the Trump administration.

They also encouraged gatherers to take action and save the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has given more than 750,000 undocumented young people permission to work, attend college and deferred action on their deportation. About 18,000 people qualify for DACA in Fresno, Tulare and Madera counties, according to a report from 2015.

The rally Monday came just a day before President Donald Trump will make an announcement on whether he will end the DACA program, according to the White House.

Luis Ojeda, a prominent voice in the local undocumented and activist community, said the arrival of Tuesday’s announcement is a “nerve-wracking time for many of us.”

Ojeda said the announcement affects more than just the so-called Dreamers. “All immigrants are deserving of support,” he said. “There’s humanity in each of them.”

Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, said that although it isn’t official, California is a sanctuary state that he intends to protect as an elected official.

“This place means the world to me,” Arambula said of the central San Joaquin Valley. “I would be nowhere without my immigrant brothers and sisters.”

Attendee Grisanti Valencia said she’s mentally preparing herself for the president’s announcement, but she thinks things could go a number of ways.

“I think he could announce anything,” she said. “We should be ready for the worst, and we should be ready for, not the best, but not terrible.”

She said if DACA ends, she knows many will return to being fearful. “Just think about ... being able to work and having that freedom of being able to get a house, and thinking you’re finally part of this country,” she said, “to the trauma of again being undocumented and having to work under the table and not really knowing about your safety or the safety of your family.”

“Regardless of what happens,” Ojeda said, “our community is resilient.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "‘A nerve-wracking time for many of us’ with DACA in jeopardy, undocumented say."