Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco commemorates DACA

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Three years ago, President Barack Obama established a program that changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. However, this program is still facing legal challenges.

"Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people," said Obama on June 15, 2012.

DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, helps people who were brought to the United States as children stay here. A U.S. federal judge recently stopped the expansion of that program and that decision may be causing some confusion for applicants.

On Monday, an event organized by the Consul General of Mexico was held to commemorate DACA. The General Consul of El Salvador says citizens of her country are the second largest group of applicants in the Bay Area.

"They're free to move, they know that they won't get deported, they can apply to different jobs and they're just more confident," El Salvador Consul General Anna Velenzuela said.

A federal judge in Texas recently prevented the Obama administration from expanding the program, which is aimed at people who were brought to the U.S. as children and grew up here.

This week's event is an effort to educate potential DACA applicants that even with this court action, foreign nationals can still apply for the original program.

"The DACA requirements that were in place in 2012 are still in place, so those who were eligible under the 2012 requirements can still apply," Rocio Preciado, an immigration advocate, said.

The president's effort to issue executive orders over immigration is controversial. Opponents say the president is pandering to a key political group, Latinos, and is making an already broken immigration system even worse.

"I don't think there should be a Dream Act, a DACA Act, if you will. We're not thinking of our own kids first. We've got to think about our own kids who want to get into schools. There are only so many seats available," Steve Kemp from the Golden Gate Minute Men said.

But those who have benefited from DACA, like Ivring Velazquez, who was brought to the U.S. at 4 years old says DACA has helped make people become productive members of society.

"We're just here to work and provide to this country," Velasquez said.

He says he was able to complete his degree as San Francisco State University and is now working and paying taxes here legally.