LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A day of celebration and a sense of relief for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, recipients in Las Vegas after the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the program.
It was a decision Norma Ramirez was hoping to hear. Her status as one of Nevada’s 14,000 DACA recipients will remain intact for now.
Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the president from ending the DACA program.
Supreme Court rules against Trump administration's plan to end DACA
“We are people and we deserve to be able to live our lives,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez told 13 Action News that she was brought over from Mexico when she was five and remains undocumented. She was part of the lawsuit filed against the Trump administration.
The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court where a 5-4 decision handed a surprising outcome to Ramirez and her fellow DACA recipients.
“Obviously with the make-up of the court and Kavanaugh being introduced, it did put doubt into what would happen,” she said.
DACA advocates discuss Supreme Court ruling, implications for Nevadans
For Astrid Silva, a prominent DACA activist and executive director of Dream Big Nevada, the legal victory is another step towards legislative reform.
“We’ve had so much power in our entire existence and this is now just another moment to highlight how resilient we are. And we are able to move forward with this,” Silva said.
Ramirez says she can continue to pursue her aspirations in higher education and believes there is still work to do.
“Keep fighting so that we can all have the freedom that we deserve,” she said.
