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Denver 'Dreamer' copes with fear of potential DACA repeal

Posted at 11:07 PM, Aug 31, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-01 01:07:35-04

DENVER -- They were brought to the U.S. as children of undocumented immigrants and a program called DACA allowed them to stay, to go to school and enter the workforce. But Thursday night, the hundreds of thousands of so-called 'Dreamers,' including those living in Colorado, fear their dreams could vanish as President Donald Trump nears a decision on whether to end DACA.

Denver7 talked to a local Dreamer, Monica Acosta about what’s at stake.

Acosta works with Padres y Jovenes Unidos, and said her job has been to help others cope with the fear of deportation. She knows it all too well, as she came to the United States illegally when she was 3-years-old and her mother was deported when she was in college.

Acosta pushes for policy change because now the Dreamers are growing up and are here to stay, with significant roles in society, she said.

"Community organizing like I am… to doctors, a lot of teachers and educators just wanting to impact the next generation of young people,” said Acosta.

There is a chance that could all go away as President Trump could decide to repeal DACA any moment now. In the past, Trump has been vocal about undocumented immigration's toll on the economy.

"Every day I wake up and the first thing I do is look at my phone and Google 'DACA Trump.'"

This would essentially deport 17,000 Dreamers in Colorado and 800,000 across the country. Acosta is trying to cope and says she plans to stay put in the only place she has ever called home.

"I’m scared and really stressed and really anxious,” said Acosta. "This is our home, like we are not going anywhere. We are organizing to fight back."