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Trump Presidency Scares DACA Recipients

Quincy Walters
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WUSF News
Isabel Granados (R) and Leonel Navarrete (L) are both DACA recepients and feel that their futures in America are uncertain under a Trump presidency

In 2012, President Obama issued an executive order called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA -- giving amnesty to children brought into the United States illegally with their families.

And during the campaign, President-Elect Donald Trump said he'll "immediately terminate" two of Obama's executive orders concerning immigration -- one of them being DACA.

Credit Ross D. Franklin / Associate Press
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Associate Press
President-elect Donald Trump giving an immigration speech in Phoenix, AZ this year.

Isabel Granados, 25, who's originally from Mexico, lives in Temple Terrace and is DACA recipient.  She said she's worried a Trump presidency will tear her family apart. 

"I have two kids," she said.  "So if he does [terminate DACA,] I'm kinda scared to see what's going to happen to my kids."

Granados said America's the only place she knows. She understands wanting people to come here legally, but said it takes a lot of time and money. It took her mom nearly 20 years to become a citizen. 

Leonel Navarrete , 22,  said he spent most of his life on the outskirts of American society--working as a migrant worker in Mulberry in Polk County when he got here with his family from Mexico in 2001. 

Today, he's a substitute teacher and goes to Polk State College, but doesn't know how long that will last with a Trump presidency. 

"[I'm] just really concerned about it, you know?" he said. "It's an unclear future for all of us who have DACA." 

Quincy J. Walters is a junior at USF, majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing. His interest in journalism spurred from the desire to convey compelling narratives. He has written for USF’s student paper, The Oracle and is currently the videographer for Creative Pinellas. If he’s not listening to NPR, he’s probably listening to Randy Newman.
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