Six people who came to this country as children have sued the Trump administration for its intention to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program - otherwise known as DACA.
All of them live in California, but one of them is a graduate of College of Southern Nevada High School and UNLV.
Norma Ramirez is getting a Ph.D. in psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. She went to Rancho High School, graduated from CSN High School, and then UNLV.
She joins a lawyer, a law school student, a medical school student and a couple of teachers in filing the suit in San Francisco.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen," Ramirez told KNPR's State of Nevada, "At a minimum, we could try to preserve the little progress that we have made.”
Ramirez said even before the announcement was made she was trying to prepare for the worst.
“I think I was trying to mentally prepare for him rescinding it," he said, "But once it hit on my emotions, it is pretty devastating.”
She said one of the reasons she applied for the Ph.D. program was because she felt hopeful after being covered by DACA, but if the program is rescinded and she loses her ability to work legally, the impact would be enormous.
“I think for me the biggest impact is psychological," she said, "I’ll feel less safe.”
Mark Rosenbaum is her attorney. He says the thrust of the lawsuit is about reneging on a promise - a promise that some people then staked their lives on.
“Nobody knows a case where the government has made a promise to individuals then gone back on that promise despite the fact individuals have relied upon it,” he said.
People opposed to the DACA program have argued that President Barack Obama overstepped his constitutional bounds when he signed the order creating the program.
Rosenbaum said that if Obama's move to create it was unconstitutional than any effort to rescind it is also unconstitutional.
“Whatever its positions now [the governement] has made a deal with individuals," he said, "You can’t treat people like that. You cannot say to individuals: come forward, divulge this information, put your lives otherwise in jeopardy and we can renege on that agreement anytime we want.”
He also doesn't believe opponents of the program are strict constitutionalists.
“I don’t think anyone believes this is being driven by anything other than raw politics,” he said.
As for Ramirez, she can legally stay and work through October 2018. The president gave Congress six months to figure something out and progress on a deal covering DACA recipients has been announced but not finalized.
“We’re hoping. We’re always hoping for something to happen," Ramirez said, "We’re hoping for a ‘clean’ Dream Act.”
The concern for some DACA recipients is that a deal could protect them, but increase deportations for people outside the program including family members.
In the meantime, Rameriz is moving ahead with her schooling with the hope of one day providing mental health services to underserved people.
Web Extra:
Keep Going Straight - Norma talks about what it was like to come to this country as a five-year-old.
Personality - Norma says much of her personality was shaped by the journey to the U.S.
Being Undocumented- Norma talks about how coming here made her more introverted.
Norma Ramirez, Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena; Mark Rosenbaum, attorney
