DACA concerns grow in Central Florida as president's expected decision to shutter program looms

ORLANDO, Fla. — For 800,000 so-called Dreamers, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, has allowed them to work and study in the U.S. legally.

That may change Tuesday, as President Donald Trump is expected to announce he will be ending the program in six months.

The thought of losing the protections of DACA was heartbreaking for University of Central Florida junior Karen Caudillo.

“(DACA) is freedom,” she said. “It’s pretty much what the American dream stands for.”

Caudillo is one of the 800,000 who came to the U.S. as a child illegally.

She was 4 years old when she came to the U.S. with her parents from Mexico.

Caudillo will be in Washington D.C., on Tuesday to join a pro-DACA rally.

The executive order put in place by then-President Barack Obama was never going to be permanent, immigration attorney Henry Lim said.

“DACA, in the first place, was a Band-Aid to the problem,” he said.

Trump is expected to ask Congress to draft legislation to codify DACA as part of his repeal of the program.

In Florida, there are nearly 33,000 DACA recipients who could be affected by the repeal of the executive order.

“It could mean that the employment authorizations previously granted could expire at that six-month timeframe,” Lim said. “It could also mean that (Trump) will stop accepting applications after that six-month timeframe. We don’t’ know.”

Repealing DACA won’t just affect people who are part of the program, Lim added.

The repeal would affect all Americans, as he worries that without the program there will be a much larger number of unlicensed, uninsured drivers on roadways.

“That affects both you and I when we’re talking about our insurance rates,” Lim said.

DACA defenders are expected to hold a rally Tuesday at Orlando City Hall. The demonstration will be one of many planned across the country in anticipation of Trump’s decision.

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