#with YOUR help WE can make New Vegas woke-r today

[dammarchy211]

Every now and then I think about new Vegas woke level and chuckle to myself

[usieldaca]

DACA: Here To Stay?

It was a warm and cloudy morning on September 5, 2017. As I woke up, all the news outlets were flooded with breaking news. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was rescinded by President Donald Trump. Hundreds of thousands of DACA Recipients also known as “Dreamers,” were left with confusion, uncertainty and their legal status left in limbo. As a DACA recipient myself, little did I know that this decision would be met with pushback and legal challenges would proceed. A roller coaster of emotions were set in motion for dreamers. 

DACA is a program that protects undocumented youth from deportation. This program was created by an executive order mandated by President Barack Obama on June 15, 2012. DACA recipients were brought to America at a young age and this country is the only place they know as their home. DACA enables immigrant youth to come out of the shadows, go to college and work legally. Recipients undergo background checks and other procedures by the USCIS to ensure eligibility. In order to maintain DACA status renewals are required every two years.

In January 2018 an order by U.S. District Judge William Alsup gave hope to DACA recipients as he ordered for DACA renewals to be put back in place. Nearly 690,000 dreamers, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, were safeguarded from deportation. However, The Trump Administration didn’t concede defeat. The battle to terminate DACA ensued. 

On June 18, The Supreme Court ruled to reinstate DACA as it was a violation of law to end it. According to an article titled “News Tip: Scotus’ DACA Decision Major Win For Young Immigrants, Experts Say” in the Duke Today, “efforts to end it had been arbitrary and capricious. The Trump administration’s error, the court ruled, was procedurally unsound, a kind of power grab that violated institutional norms and administrative culture by not addressing the policy consequences of changing DACA.” It was a huge victory for DACA recipients, immigrant families and everyone that supports the program. 

According to an article titled “Are DACA Students Still Safe to Stay?” dated April 25, 2017 in the New England Journal of Higher Education, from 2012 to 2016 the DACA program received approximately a million initial applications nationwide. Only 752,154 were successfully approved. 

In Nevada, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there are 12,100 recipients as of March 31, 2020. Of those, there are 9,700 in the Las Vegas Valley. 

Some of those recipients go to school at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

UNLV Student Juan Pablo Plascencia,  recalled that day, “Well when President Trump rescinded DACA, I didn’t get scared because I knew there was a long, legal battle going on. There are amazing people in our community who fight for us specifically Senator Dick Durbin who I think is a great man. There are a lot of amazing lawyers that see us for who we are. We’re human beings and not just a pawn to be played with when politics come around.” 

Plascencia doesn’t shy away from reality, “My mentality is pretty simple on this. I know my parents broke the law to bring me here. I was a child when I was brought here. I have no idea what happened. One day I was in Mexico. The next day I’m here in Las Vegas. It’s like time travel. That’s the way I explain it to people when they ask me but the thing is that my parents had to do something that even though it wasn’t legal, morally it makes sense.” 

Many DACA recipients grew up unaware that they were undocumented. The harsh reality of who they are came at a young age. Many wanted to start employment or travel outside of the country. 

Leslie Vazquez, University of Washington Tacoma student with DACA status recalled, “I first realized I was undocumented when I was in middle school. I actually wanted to travel to Mexico and my mom had to have a conversation with me about me not being able to leave the country.” 

Growing up unsure of what the future has in store is terrifying. President Trump’s antics fueled fear and unpredictability. 

“I felt like I couldn’t breathe and enjoy living in America. I could empathize with jewish people. I understood how they felt, be extra careful. Don’t say anything, don’t post anything. That might be used against you.” Plascencia said. “It was hard. As a history teacher, one of the things I always tell my students is to love your country. Love your country enough for when you see an issue, you want to go and fix it. I think President Trump is a hypocrite. He tells us that he’s going to treat DACA with kindness and a lot of heart. It’s a good thing for the DACA kids. He then puts his foot in our butt and files to remove DACA. Loses the court case and then he states he will file the proper paperwork to get this over. I’m sorry sir, am I just a pawn to you? Is my humanity not real? Are my efforts not good enough for you?”

Joe Biden became the U.S. President-elect earlier in November. Biden has been vocal about his support on DACA. On November 2, 2020, Biden tweeted, “Dreamers are Americans -- And it’s time we make it official.” 

Vazquez said, “I am excited to know that Biden has won the presidency and I remain hopeful that he will be able to help us ‘Dreamers.’ It's easier to believe Biden when he says he will help us gain citizenship because we’ve had four years of someone who has consistently put us down. However, I am not going to get my hopes up until action is done.”  

Although hope is not lost, it has dissipated for many DACA recipients.

“I saw who he appointed for his cabinet. He appointed the same woman that approved for family separation at the border under the Obama Administration. I just hope it’s not the same thing. Which it’s looking like it might be.” Plascencia said. “Personally, I have hope but at the same time I’m not holding my breath anymore. I’m not going to wait to live my life. I’ll do the best that I can under the system that I’m in. At the end of the day, I’m not going to beg for scraps. I’m a productive member of this society. I don’t see immigration being on top of Biden’s list. Right now we are in a pandemic and after the pandemic it’ll be the economy and after the economy we have another two year election.” 

Furthermore, Plascencia explains his thoughts on DACA, “I did what I was asked to do, I signed up for DACA. I have done everything right, I’ve never broken the law but what I want is for politicians to make this right. We passed the test. DACA is a smashing success. There are 95 percent of us that are excelling in the program. Five percent have been sent back. That’s good, this is an audition. We have to prove to the American people but at the same time I’m not begging for scraps. I don’t beg for scraps but at the same time it has to be done in a way that makes sense. DACA to me makes perfect sense. You put us young people to audition. What was the audition? Exactly what it says on the applications. I think instead of democrats and republicans promising the world to us, I’d rather see some action. I need to see some movement.”  

However, those that oppose the DACA program state that illegal immigration is being encouraged through its’ policies. According to an article titled, “Are DACA and The Dream Act Good For America?” in the Britannica ProCon, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said that DACA “encouraged more illegal immigration and contributed to the surge of unaccompanied minors and families seeking to enter the U.S. illegally.” In the same article, according to Karl Eschbach, PhD, “DACA will increase the undocumented population because those who don’t qualify for DACA will stay in the hopes of qualifying eventually, and more people will immigrate assuming coverage by DACA or a similar program.”

In addition, according to an article titled, “It’s Time to End DACA -- It’s Unconstitutional Unless Approved by Congress” in the Heritage, “Providing amnesty and potential citizenship to DACA recipients and other illegal immigrants before we have a secure border will only encourage even more illegal immigration, just as the 1986 amnesty in the Immigration Reform and Control Act did. That law provided citizenship to almost 3 million illegal immigrants and was supposed to solve the problem of illegal immigration. Yet within 10 years, there were another almost 6 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The federal government should be concentrating on enhancing immigration enforcement and border security to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the country and reduce the number of them already in the interior of the U.S.”

As DACA continues to hang in the balance politically, recipients continue setting goals for their futures optimistically. 

“I would love to graduate with a PHd in Neurological Psychology,” Plascencia said. “I would love to go to Medical School to practice Psychology. That’s something I believe I would be really good at. Again I’m not hoping for it, I’m just waiting to make my moves. When my parents came to America they had ten dollars in their pockets. Now, I’m about to purchase my own house, I have my own car.”

Additionally Plascencia added that he is working on his third degree at UNLV. He will be graduating with his Masters in Curriculum/Instruction in Secondary Social Studies. He is a social studies and history teacher at the Las Vegas Academy Performing Arts. 

Plascencia reflects, “Education is the most powerful and important thing. I think that as a person I want to be more educated. I would love to become a citizen because I do want to vote. As a teacher it’s ironic I can’t vote but I teach my students how to.”

Vazquez is currently in the last quarter of obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in accounting at the Milgard School of Business. Vazquez and her parents own their own Mexican restaurant which has been open to the public for three years. “I hope that I will remain in the country for years to come. My ultimate dream is to get my CPA degree to help our community.”

As the uncertainty is still not over, recipients contemplate their decisions with valor. 

“As a person who has DACA, I’m pretty much at the end of my road. I could go teach at the University in Canada, I could teach in a University in England, I could go live in Spain, Germany. But instead I’m choosing to stay because this is the only country that I know about,” Plascencia said. 

[essentiallychaotic]

I was tagged by the always marvelous and delightful @acynicandanidealist ^-^ he tagged me forever ago but as I have often mentioned I am the literal worst at doing these in a timely manner. Which is ironic bc I love doing them, ah well, such is life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

a - Age:

25. Bc I am terribly old. And also terribly young. It’s a strange space to be in.

b - birthplace:

Montana USA. In what was probably a fairly small town.

c - current time:

13:34. I should be writing my thesis. But I hate it. So I’m watching Practical Magic and drinking tea instead because I love those things.

d - drink you last had:

That would be tea. As mentioned before. I also had a smoothie today. Should probably drink some water at some point as well.

e - easiest person people to talk to:

Uuummm... my mom probably. She just gets it, ya know?

f - favourite song:

Too many. Probably.... Rebel Love Song by Black Veil Brides, or Beautiful Pain by Andy Black. If you are now wondering the answer is yes, I was emo as crap in high school, and continue to be the adult version of my pop punk, alt rock, emo self. It’s my happy life. Also As the World Falls Down by David Bowie. Cause I gotta mention Bowie.

g - grossest memory:

I stepped in dog poo once as a kid. That was pretty gross.

h - horror yes or horror no:

Horror no. I’m a wimp. A friend of mine had me watch a horror movie once bc he was like, this isn’t that bad, and it was awful. I made him watch The Decoy Bride with me afterwards as brain bleach so I could sleep.

i - in love?:

I love all my peeps and people I claim as family. Not currently in love romantically. Dating is crap, and tbh I’ve been moving around so much the last few years it hasn’t been worth it to me. So yeah.

j - jealous of people?:

Nah, I mean I get envious sometimes, I think we all do, but I’m not really a jealous person.

l - love at first sight or should I walk by again:

I mean love carries a strong implication of knowing the other person to me, ya know? Like I guess it’s possible? But I think it’s more like a knowing that you have to talk to that person or you’ll regret it your whole life, not actual LOVE, more like, the possibility they are the person you’ve been waiting for. I don’t know if that makes sense but yeah...

m - middle name:

Jene.

n - number of siblings:

One brother, he’s a year younger and totally hilarious, definitely one of my best friends.

o - one wish:

For the world and people to be healthier. I don’t mean like, eat carrot sticks and run a lot healthy, I mean genuinely emotionally healthier. I just want every kid to have a happy childhood. To get to be kids, ya know? Cause I think that’s important. And our world just isn’t there yet. Which is hard.

p - person you called last:

Ummmm.... I just looked it up. It was my mom. I needed her help remembering something and I was in Washington.

q - question you are always asked:

“how are you?” It’s generic, but people don’t ask me a lot of questions if I’m honest. Dunno why. Maybe bc I tend to rant. That might be it. I’m just angry about the state of the world lately and I don’t know how not to be.

r - reason to smile:

My dogs demanding a lap and cuddles. Good books. Friends. Tea. Practical Magic. Sunshine. And rain. There’s lots of good happening.

s - song you sang last:

Probably somethingby Bowie. Cause I was listening to an 80s playlist yesterday. I haven’t sung anything today so I can’t really remember.

t - time you woke up:

9 am bc of my alarm. And the fact that I am supposed to do thesis work today. It’s a struggle.

u - underwear colour:

.... pink and grey striped

v - vacation destination:

Anywhere. Where my friends are honestly is at the top of my list. Which means I’ll have to brave Florida this year. But also means I’ll be able to go to Disney(world/land) (i can never remember which is which) with an expert cause he knows how to navigate the park like a pro so that could be good. Also Las Vegas. I have a lot of friends there.

w - worst habit:

Pain in the ass perfectionism. Still trying to learn how to let myself just be human. Just be young and figure it out. It takes a lot of work. I expect too much of myself. It’s not fair to me. Also when I get truly, deeply bored I get grumpy and snipey. Which isn’t fair to anybody.

x - rays:

Only for my teeth. Them wisdom teeth tho.

y - your favourite food:

Bigos. It’s Polish hunter’s stew and it’s amazing. Also Sourdough pancakes. And my mom’s new york cheesecake. Really anything my mom bakes.

z - zodiac sign:

Aries.

I’d like to tag @skittles-pixie @anpanmanslaps @starsandamorphinetoast @newsicals @wanttodrawmothsfrommemory if you guys want to do it and anyone who wants to do it this is me tagging you ^-^