Hundreds of thousands of young lives could be affected in the coming days as the Trump administration phases out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to remain in the country.
Texas has the second largest number of DACA recipients living throughout the state. Many in San Antonio are urging the president and Congress to preserve the program.
On Tuesday, DACA supporters came together at the Avenida Guadalupe Association to make their voices heard. They did so on the heels of Attorney General Jeff Sessions announcing the the end to the program in six months, which will threaten the legal status of about 800,000 DACA recipients in the U.S.
"There are a large number of youth that have no criminal records, in many cases they have their GEDs or are high school graduates," said Gabriel Quintero Velasquez with the Avenida Guadalupe Association. "For the most part, they are considered to be everything that defines great Americans."
Putting an end to the executive order, started in 2012 by former President Barack Obama, will not only effect the undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children but also the approximately 2 million family members linked to them.
"Those that depend on us economically like our children or some parents," said Seven Flores, a DACA recipient.
There is a coalition of attorneys general that believe that canceling DACA will have a huge impact on the economy considering that one of the primary objectives of DACA is to offer work opportunities.