The future of nearly 28,000 people in Arizona could be in jeopardy as lawmakers debate if and when any discussions on DACA, an Obama-era program granting temporary legal status to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, will take place.
The Trump administration announced an end to the program in September. It's set to expire in March.
During a news conference on Saturday organized by immigrant-rights group, Promise Arizona, DACA recipient Perla Salgado said she and others in her situation have been forced to live in limbo for too long. Salgado was brought to the U.S. by her parents when she was 6-years-old.
"To see our lives being played like this, to see people not seeing us as human -- they see us as a political game, that's very hurtful," said Salgado.
Salgado and others spent time in Washington, D.C. last week lobbying for action on immigration reform.
Republicans are refusing to discuss DACA or other potential immigration legislation until a spending bill is passed and the federal government is reopened. Democrats say they will not support any spending measure until a plan is in place for the approximately 700,000 people in the U.S. protected by the program.
