POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, better known as DACA.

  • Protections for 660,000 immigrants on the line at Supreme Court
  • Polk County DACA recipient hopeful about Supreme Court outcome
  • DACA

The decision is set to impact about 660,000 immigrants, including Polk County resident and UCF student Yessenia Abarca Villanueva. 

The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday on the Trump administration’s bid to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that shields immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation and allows them to work in the United States legally.

The program was begun under President Barack Obama. The Trump administration announced in September 2017 that it would end DACA protections, but lower federal courts have stepped in to keep the program alive.

Now it’s up to the Supreme Court to say whether the way the administration has gone about trying to wind down DACA complies with federal law.

Last month, the LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Council of Central Florida held its inaugural summit at Polk State College to discuss the future of DACA. 

Villanueva, 23, has been under DACA for several years. 

"I’m definitely very, very worried because again my life can change from one moment to another where I have right now the opportunity to commute to the University of Central Florida to continue my education, to be a young professional," Villanueva said. 

If the court agrees with the administration in the DACA case, Congress could put the program on surer legal footing. 

But the absence of comprehensive immigration reform from Congress is what prompted Obama to create DACA in 2012, giving people two-year renewable reprieves from the threat of deportation while also allowing them to work.

The worst case scenario for DACA recipients would be the court ruling DACA unconstitutional, that would not just end the program but block any future presidents from implementing anything like it in the future. 

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.