PHOENIX — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun taking a more aggressive stance towards Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipients, declaring DACA protections may not shield so-called "Dreamers" from deportations, even pushing them towards self-deportation.
Even if the federal government doesn't see Reyna Montoya as an American, she does. Montoya has lived in Arizona full-time since she was 13, meeting her husband, José - also a DACA recipient - at Arizona State University, and starting a successful nonprofit, Aliento, that has created jobs for American citizens.
"So definitely like, this is the place that I call home and that I feel that I belong," Montoya said.
DACA recipients are adults who were brought to the U.S. as children, often referred to as Dreamers. They have been granted protection from deportation in exchange for the federal government being able to track their employment, biometrics, and more.
Living in America has never felt steady. Reyna and her husband have had to renew their DACA statuses every two years, allowing both to keep living and working in the U.S. DACA has also never given recipients a path to citizenship or permanent legal residency.
Under the Trump Administration, DACA recipients are being told to leave the country. That's something Montoya has no plans to do.
"This is home. I will not be self-deporting," she said. "I grew up here in Arizona. I am maybe a little too stubborn and I say, like, if they wanna kick me out, that's something different. But I'm gonna do the best that I can to continue to remain home."
It doesn't mean she hasn't prepared for the possibility. Montoya has all of her immigration documents organized in a bag, easily accessible, and in a place her family could find them if the worst happens.
Reporting from outlets around the country shows that under the Trump Administration, more DACA recipients are not getting the legal protections they once did, even during Trump's first term. Dreamers across the U.S. have been detained, even without a criminal record or charges.
In a statement regarding DACA detentions, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin encouraged "illegal aliens" to self-deport through the CBP One.
“Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportations," McLaughlin said. "DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime."
The decision by the Trump Administration to begin detaining and deporting DACA recipients comes with no clear warning or direction from immigration officials. Montoya said neither she nor anyone else with DACA status had been contacted directly by any type of government agency to advise them that the rules had been changed for them.
Now, she's left waiting for answers and hoping for the best.
"[We have] no criminal record, have been doing everything that the government told us to and still we are at risk," she said. "It's having this, like, dark cloud on top of your head that, it's like, it cuts deep that no matter what you do, it's never good enough and that your livelihood is not within your control."
