海角大神

Allison Brady was thrilled last October when she received her second temporary employment authorization card, along with another two-year reprieve from possible deportation.

Her family brought her to the United States 20 years ago when she was just 10 from the Dominican Republic. She鈥檚 lived in New York City ever since. And like some 740,000 other 鈥淒reamers,鈥� she qualified for President Obama鈥檚 controversial 2012 executive immigration order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

But less than a month after getting her DACA renewal, Ms. Brady, a math teacher with New York City public schools, was one of the hundreds of thousands of such Dreamers gripped with a troubling sense of uncertainty after the election of Donald Trump.

鈥淚鈥檓 definitely worried now, not only for me, but for other people in my shoes who are in the situation I was in a few years ago,鈥� says Brady, who is now married and is pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in education from Brooklyn College.

Indeed, with President-elect Trump and Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress vowing to undo a host of Mr. Obama鈥檚 policies, Democrats and immigration advocates have been fretting not only about the future of those undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children, but also the personal data the federal government gathered from DACA enrollees and their families.

鈥淚f any new applicants are coming in now to apply for DACA, we tell them not to,鈥� says Angela Fernandez, executive director of the , which has helped more than 300 young people get their temporary work permits. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want the government to have their information.鈥�

A softening by Trump?

As a candidate, Trump鈥檚 signature campaign issue was his hard line on illegal immigration, saying repeatedly that he would end the DACA program and possibly deport its participants along with an estimated 11 million others living in the country without documents. As president-elect, though, Trump has begun to soften his tone, saying he wants to 鈥渨ork something out鈥� for the so-called Dreamers.

鈥淭hey got brought here at a very young age, they鈥檝e worked here, they鈥檝e gone to school here,鈥� Trump told Time when he was named the magazine鈥檚 鈥淪ome were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they鈥檙e in never-never land because they don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen. We鈥檙e going to work something out that鈥檚 going to make people happy and proud.鈥�

Republican members of Congress, too, have been working with Democrats to find a way to replace Obama鈥檚 executive order with bipartisan legislation creating a similar program.

鈥淸I] do not believe we should pull the rug out and push these young men and women 鈥� who came out of the shadows and registered with the federal government 鈥� back into the darkness,鈥� said Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R) of South Carolina, who joined Sen. Richard Durbin, (D) of Illinois, to introduce the 鈥淏ridge Act.鈥� Like Obama鈥檚 executive order, the bill would provide a 鈥減rovisional protected presence鈥� for law-abiding Dreamers, deferring deportations for three years and also allowing them to work.

Yet many Democrats have urged Obama to grant pardons to the illegal immigrants who came to the country as children 鈥� an action the White House has refused to do. Democratic lawmakers, too, have been urging the president

There is much at stake, too, for undocumented immigrants like Brady, who have grown up, gone to school, and struggled to make sense of their futures.

鈥淚 was just a kid when I came, and I really didn鈥檛 know what immigration status really meant,鈥� says Brady, who grew up and attended public schools in Washington Heights, which New Yorkers often call 鈥淟ittle DR鈥� because of the many Dominican immigrants who live there. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 really worrying about it until my senior year in high school when I had to start thinking about colleges.鈥�

鈥淏ut when I started to really understand what my life was going to be like, I started freaking out, I started to panic,鈥� she continues. 鈥淲hy was I going to school? What is the point of going to college if I couldn鈥檛 get a career if I was an illegal immigrant?鈥�

She pressed on, doing what a lot of low-income New Yorkers do. She volunteered at a home for the elderly, she attended summer academic programs, she made her high school honor roll and tutored younger peers.

And after getting accepted to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, she worked long hours as a bartender, off the books, to pay her way. It was overwhelming, she says, until she got a scholarship from a local civic group. 鈥淚 was over the moon, full of joy and crying and happy after getting it,鈥� she says.

She loved her days tutoring and eventually decided to become a teacher.

鈥淎s clich茅 and corny as this sounds, it鈥檚 like some people just have their calling,鈥� the graduate student now says. 鈥淚t took me a while to figure it out, but it truly makes my heart happy.鈥�

Yet she still felt that she was 鈥渓iving in the shadows, being a part of something, but not really,鈥� during her 20 years coming of age in the United States. Now married to a US citizen, she says Obama鈥檚 order finally helped her become 鈥淒ACA-mented,鈥� as many Dreamers call it, and be authorized to teach math in New York City public schools.聽[Marriage can help gain citizenship for the undocumented like Brady, but there are many pitfalls.]聽 聽

Immigration hard-liners 聽

Brady's and others' futures also remains uncertain because of聽the current political climate, says Ms. Fernandez of the immigrant rights coalition.

Many of Trump鈥檚 supporters have steadfastly stood against a path toward citizenship, punishing Republican lawmakers seeking immigration reform. And many of the president-elect鈥檚 cabinet picks, such as Jeff Sessions, his nominee for attorney general, have taken a hard line on illegal immigration.

鈥淏ut we need to sit down and talk to the people who view immigration and immigrants as a threat to their well-being,鈥� Fernandez says. 鈥淣ot everyone who voted for Trump is racist, not everyone who voted for Trump is afraid of immigrants,鈥� she says, noting that there were actually a number of legal immigrants who voted for Trump in November.

The key to changing the current political climate is 鈥渇ace-to-face relationship building,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 the harder part. That鈥檚 what takes longer. But it has to be done. It鈥檚 critical.鈥�