DACA Community Observation Report

The only community event I have had the opportunity to attend so far was the Front Porch Gathering regarding immigration in our community, specifically about DACA recipients. The event began by a representative of the LCCE introducing two DACA recipients who shared their stories about how DACA has given them opportunities that were once unimaginable. It helped set the scene for how impactful DACA is in the lives our youth in our community. At that point, it was no longer just a piece of obscure government legislation that we hear about on the news; it was living and breathing in front of our very eyes. Even though DACA has never affected me or anyone in my family or friend circle, it now felt personal.
From there, we broke up into different groups and had small facilitations where we discussed DACA and the effects of its removal in our community. In my group, there was two members of the Austin NAACP, a member of Austin LULAC, a UT law student, and Kayli and …show more content…
Here we shared what we found to be the most impactful or important from our meetings. I shared that it caught my attention how groups that may not be as affected by DACA, like the NAACP, was still at the meeting to show their support for those who are affected. I felt that it is important that we continue to show support for each other like this in order to influence change. If we do not support each other and just stick to our own causes, then we all end up sort of competing to have our voices heard rather than uplifting one another. I think the upshot for this gathering was that we all became more aware of how DACA is affecting not only children in our communities, but entire families. It gave those who are knowledgeable on the subject an opportunity to educated their peers on why they should care about DACA and how they can become more involved in fighting for the rights of other members of the