Upon receiving her permit, Maria immediately started job hunting in her field. She also started researching masters programs. By October, she found work as a domestic violence coordinator at the Latin American Community Center, an NCLR Affiliate. For Maria, DACA has truly been transformative. “I’m able to get a [driver’s] license; It gives me more stability with my work,” said Garcia. “It just improves my life so much. I’m also in the process of buying a house now, which was something we couldn’t do before.” Maria’s not finished yet. Her future plans include finishing her advanced degree program in mental health therapy at Widener University. Eventually she plans on working toward a PhD. None of this would be possible without DACA and without a commitment from policymakers to improve immigrant lives. Maria has message to those in Congress trying to block administrative relief for others like her: “Give us a chance. Do more research on how our workforce is going to help the economy and put less focus on the negative things always said about immigrants. That’s not who we are.”
An estimated 2,000 people in Delaware are eligible for the current DACA program. Source: Migration Policy Institute
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