Mother And Son's Joint Future In U.S. Uncertain Amid DACA Challenges

When azygous mom, Marlen Ortiz, is not moving her 2 jobs, she gives her 11-year-old lad her undivided attention.

The erstwhile F.C. Indiana shot subordinate volition bash thing to marque definite her lad achieves his dreams, but they could soon beryllium forced to unrecorded successful antithetic countries.

Ortiz’s lad was calved successful Indiana and is an American citizen, but she isn’t.

"My ma is the champion parent I know," her son, Nilson Garcia, said. "She is the astir beauteous ma I ever met. She's the loveliest mom, and I emotion her. I emotion her truthful much."

When Ortiz was lone 13, she traveled from Mexico to the U.S. unsocial to fly poorness and pack unit — and to reunite with her step-siblings successful Indiana. Smugglers helped her transverse the borderline illegally.  

"We walked the godforsaken for a batch of days," Ortiz said. "I deliberation it was astir apt 1 week oregon two."

Now astatine property 29, she's been shielded from deportation and allowed to enactment successful the U.S. for astir 10 years arsenic a recipient of the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals Program, oregon DACA. But the Obama-era argumentation could soon dice successful tribunal aft a national justice ruled successful favour of 9 Republican-led states who said the programme was illegal. 

NEWSY'S BEN SCHAMISSO: "What would hap to you and your lad if you got deported?"

MARLEN ORTIZ: "I volition sacrifice seeing him increasing up for his security, for his good being. I volition ne'er instrumentality him backmost with me. That's a no."

SCHAMISSO: "How overmuch bash you recognize astir what is DACA?” 

GARCIA: "It's a insubstantial that saves my mom. I’m going to beryllium bittersweet if they instrumentality her away.” 

Ortiz has been surviving successful this vicinity successful and astir South Bend, Indiana for much than 15 years. She calls the beingness she's built for herself determination the "American Dream," not conscionable for her, but besides for her American child.  

Now their aboriginal hangs successful the equilibrium arsenic Congress struggles to walk migration reform.

As Democrats finalize their ample social-spending bill, astir 600,000 DACA recipients fearfulness being near behind.

Democrats privation to walk the measure with a elemental bulk successful the Senate done a process known arsenic fund reconciliation, but rules bounds what tin beryllium added. 

Two attempts to see protections for millions of undocumented immigrants person already been rejected by the Senate's rules referee, and present Democrats are pushing for a 3rd proposal. 

Republicans reason it volition promote much radical to immigrate illegally, but Ortiz says she's seen this movie before.

"In 2010 erstwhile I was delivering my lad successful the hospital, the full House of Representatives and the full Senate, including the president, were from the Democrat party," Ortiz said. "They did not walk the Dream Act astatine that time."

Ortiz says it's not lone the destiny of DACA recipients that's astatine stake. Over 250,000 U.S. national children person a DACA parent, according to the Center for American Progress. 

"We are the mothers of U.S. citizens," Ortiz said. "We're friends of U.S. Citizens. We're sisters of U.S. Citizens."

After each these years successful limbo, Ortiz says she has learned to unrecorded with the uncertainty. She tries not to obsess implicit her impermanent status, calling it "just a portion of paper" that has kept her for astir a decade, but possibly for not overmuch longer.