At the age of two, Blanca Palacio was brought to the United States from Mexico by her parents. She and her family spent the next 17 years living as undocumented residents in Oregon, constantly fearing deportation every time they left the house.
Then in 2012, after her first year studying at community college, President Barack Obama used executive action to authorize the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16 to apply for temporary visas and drivers licenses.
“I felt like there was a heavy weight lifted from me,” said Palacio. “I was in the shadows because I didn’t want to tell people about my situation, but when I received DACA I felt good. I felt like I could do things that I couldn’t. I didn’t feel trap anymore.”
Palacio applied for DACA that summer. After getting accepted she transferred from Lane Community College to the University of Oregon, where she is finishing her bachelor’s in international studies with a concentration in human rights.
After the 2016 presidential election the lives of young immigrants were changed. Programs such as DACA are under attack, and with the pressure of deportation, many DACA participants are forced to reevaluate their future.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, DACA has accepted over 750,00 applicants and has an eligible population of 1.9 million. Though DACA does provide temporary relief, it is by no means a path for citizenship. These permits are good for an average of two years and can be renewed as long as the applicant meets the requirements and the program is still running.
Dr. Julie Weise, an assistant professor at the University of Oregon’s Department of History with a PhD in migration and anthropology, holds DACA as only a temporary solution to a major problem.
“It allowed people to come from the shadows who have been previously fearing deportation,” Weise said. “So on the one hand, it allowed the people who met the requirements to get a work permit and stay for the foreseeable future. On the other hand it’s not any kind of permit for immigration status. All it’s doing is essentially the government saying that we know you’re here and you are our absolute lowest priority for deportation.”   
DACA gives the opportunity for people like Mendoza to breathe easy and continue their studies only to a point. Due to the fact that DACA was passed by executive action, President Trump could overturn it.
During his campaign, Trump took a powerful stance against immigration, particularly from Mexico and South America. According to a video released by Trump’s campaign outlining his policy plan for his first 100 days of presidency, Trump stated that he would cancel every “unconstitutional” executive action issued by President Obama, as well as removing more than 2 million illegal immigrants from the U.S.
President Trump stated that he will focus on providing American born citizens more opportunities for jobs by deporting a mass number of immigrants. Trump vowed during his campaign to deport an estimated 11 million immigrants and focusing on DACA participants would be an easy way to follow through with his promise.
It is unclear whether Trump will wait for visas to expire before deporting DACA participants or if he would immediately deport them after his first 100 days in office. The uncertainty has left many frightened.
Joseph Quintero, a 20-year-old DACA participant, is one of them. Quintero was brought by his mother from Mexico to the U.S. at the age of five to meet his father who had been working in the U.S.
For the past year Quintero has been working several jobs in logging mills and auto body shops to save enough money to go back to school.
His plans included going to Lane Community College for two years before transferring to a university where he could study biology in the hopes of becoming a nurse. His plans immediately changed after election night. Since then Quintero has been forced to confront the possibility of deportation and the effect that would have in his life.
“I feel rushed, like everything is a lot more rushed. Me and my girlfriend are thinking about getting married, but I’m not sure yet. We’re waiting to see if that’s what we want to do next,” said Quintero.
This political climate has forced DACA participants to reevaluate their future and their ability to find residency. It has caused many to feel overwhelmed and fearful for not only themselves but for their families.
Richard Mora, a 21 year old DACA participant, holds a visa that will expire in two months. Mora for the last three years has been working two minimum wage jobs on the University of Oregon campus to support his mother and six sisters. He planned on applying to business school and one day gain a management position.
Born in Mexico, Mora and his sisters have been rethinking their lives here in the U.S. For Mora, who has lived in the U.S. since he was nine, this is the only home he knows. He feels betrayed by the American voters and anger towards Trump and the negative light Trump has shined on undocumented immigrants.
“This shows what [Trump] really thinks, that he can just take us [immigrants] all at once,” said Mora. “I’m pretty sure the country is going to feel it. So it’s not like he’s just harming us, he’s harming the country at the same time.”