Convivir Colorado: DACA in Limbo, Again

This story product comes from CEC awardee Convivir Colorado. Convivir is dedicated to supporting the positive mental health development of immigrant youth in Colorado. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program was first announced in 2012. It provided a work permit, renewable every two years for eligible people who migrated to the US at a young age. It changed the lives of thousands of people who could finally access a social security number, job, driver’s license, easier access to higher education, fewer career barriers, a health insurance plan for the first time, and safety from deportation.

Directly impacted young people highlight the breath of fresh air that DACA first gave them, leaving us to contend with the negative repercussions of escalating threats to the program since 2017. As outlined in the video, for some of our students it would mean returning to a life before they “came out of the shadows,” a time when they feared for their ability to be authentic to themselves and feel welcomed in society. Their art and personal narratives are woven together with facts about DACA that don’t do enough justice to describe the true impact on most, if not all, determinants of health.